Tea...is a religion of the art of life.
Okakura KakuzoRead
Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Teaism celebrates beauty within the mundane, emphasizing purity and harmony in social relationships.
The quote by Okakura Kakuzo highlights the philosophy of Teaism, which finds beauty in the ordinary aspects of life. It suggests that within the chaotic and often unpleasant realities of everyday existence, there is a profound appreciation for purity, harmony, and the connections between people, fostering a deeper understanding of social interactions that are both romantic and charitable.
Themes
TeaismBeautyPurityHarmonySocialRomanticismCharity
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on the importance of art and culture, this quote can illustrate how beauty can thrive in everyday life.
More from Okakura Kakuzo
All quotes →Fain would we remain barbarians, if our claim to civilization were to be based on the gruesome glory of war.
Okakura KakuzoRead
Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.
Okakura KakuzoRead
Tea is a work of art and needs a master hand to bring out its noblest qualities. We have good and bad teas, as we have good and bad paintings - generally the latter.
Okakura KakuzoRead
For life is an expression, our unconscious actions the constant betrayal of our innermost thought. Perhaps we reveal ourselves too much in small things because we have so little of the great to conceal. The tiny incidents of daily rouitine are as much a commentary of racial ideas as the highest flight of philosophy or poetry.
Okakura KakuzoRead
The ancient sages never put their teachings in a systematic form. They spoke in paradoxes, for they were afraid of uttering half-truths. They began by talking like fools and ended by making their hearers wise.
Okakura KakuzoRead
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