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Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Japanese Tea Ceremony and Obon Festival at Pittsburgh Zen Center, August 29.



The Pittsburgh Zen Center in Sewickley is hosting a Japanese Tea Ceremony and Obon Festival on Saturday, August 29. The tea ceremony will begin at 9:30:
Enjoy a demonstration of Japanese Tea Ceremony and have a cup prepared for you.
Preparing tea in this ceremony means pouring all one’s attention into the predefined movements. The whole process is not about drinking tea, but is about aesthetics, preparing a bowl of tea from one’s heart.
Myoshu Pam Wren has been practicing Tea for over 20 years. She and her students will prepare and serve matcha and sweets to our guests.
RSVP is required for the tea ceremony and can be done online. The Obon component begins at 1:30. Obon, Wikipedia writes,
is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist-Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori.
The event is free but a $20 donation is suggested. The Pittsburgh Zen Center is located at 124 Willow Ridge Road in Sewickley (map), a suburb northwest of Pittsburgh.