Green Tea Frappuccino

I had my first taste of the strange concoction known as “Green Tea Frappuccino” at Starbucks last night. Hidden in the icey sweetness was the faintest trace of green tea. My Asian friends may cringe at such a thing, but I’ve never been able to resist green beverages, culturally sensitive ones or otherwise. :^)

Speaking of green tea, I had a wonderful visit with my cousin a few weeks ago while visiting the in-laws in Ohio. He is a professor of history at Wittenberg University specializing in the “Meiji Period” of Japanese development (19th century). We talked for 8 hours straight while drinking tea, eating pie, and going out for Mexican. It was one of those rare bubbles of time that only seem to last the briefest of moments.

Continuing along this stream of consciousness… I need to find another copy of "The Book of Tea" by Okakura Kakuzo. I think I loaned it to a friend in medical school and have not seen it since. The author was a Japanese scholar who wrote it in English at the turn of the last century as a sort of apologetic for the Japanese way of life. The peculiar language usage and Taoist/Zen philosophy make this one of the most intriguing books I’ve ever encountered. The poetic description/explanation of the Japanese Tea Ceremony is breathtaking. The flavor of it is very much like the celebration of the Divine Liturgy and other services of the Eastern Orthodox Church, ie, the importance of aesthetics, ritual, the sense of awe and mystery, centrality of the “cup” (tea/Eucharistic), among other things.

As I disembark from this stream I’ll leave you with my favorite excerpt from the book:

“The Taoists relate that at the great beginning of the No-Beginning, Spirit and Matter met in mortal combat. At last the Yellow Emperor, the Sun of Heaven, triumphed over Shuhyung, the demon of darkness and earth. The Titan, in his death agony, struck his head against the solar vault and shivered the blue dome of jade into fragments. The stars lost their nests, the moon wandered aimlessly among the wild chasms of the night. In despair the Yellow Emperor sought far and wide for the repairer of the Heavens. He had not to search in vain. Out of the Eastern sea rose a queen, the divine Niuka, horn-crowned and dragon-tailed, resplendent in her armor of fire. She welded the five-coloured rainbow in her magic cauldron and rebuilt the Chinese sky. But it is told that Niuka forgot to fill two tiny crevices in the blue firmament. Thus began the dualism of love--two souls rolling through space and never at rest until they join together to complete the universe. Everyone has to build anew his sky of hope and peace.

The heaven of modern humanity is indeed shattered in the Cyclopean struggle for wealth and power. The world is groping in the shadow of egotism and vulgarity. Knowledge is bought through a bad conscience, benevolence practiced for the sake of utility. The East and the West, like two dragons tossed in a sea of ferment, in vain strive to regain the jewel of life. We need a Niuka again to repair the grand devastation; we await the great Avatar.

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."

A Good Death

When I leave this world I want to be sitting in a bookstore at night, an old man in a big chair, crumpled sweater, baggy corduroys, & wire spectacles. I’ll have just read a beautifully melancholic passage from Kundera, feel warm and sleepy as I lay the book across my belly and nap.  The rise and fall of my chest will remind me of being on a boat out at sea rocking me to sleep. And with one big sigh the waters will calm and my soul will detach and continue on its journey, no longer sailing but flying.  If I’m lucky no one will notice. But if someone does, I hope it is a fellow booklover who may even work there. I won’t mind if her hair is a strange color or she has rings in her nose, brow and ears. I just hope she has the presence of mind to keep it to herself until after closing time when the arrival of the ambulance will not upset anyone and I’ll be long gone.