3.Wabisuki
Chasuki evolved into chanoyu once its three facts of chashitsu, temae, and chadogu were developed. Together with this, however, another idea that boosted the development of chasuki was the awakening of the notion of wabisuki. This , again, may be divided into four concepts:
(1) The same concept as the devotion demanded in utasuki (執心)
(2) to engage in zen training (禅)
(3) to study waka and understand its essence (和歌)
(4) to be able to select implements qualified for wabisuiki (目聞)
Concerning the second point, ZEN, in utasuki the Buddhist path did not necessarily mean ZEN; however, in wabisuki it was clearly identified that this path must be that of Zen. One reason behind this was that RIKYU and the others of this era who presumably contributed to the development of the wabisuki idea inevitably studied Zen. More to the point, however, is that chanoyu devotees considered that the Buddhist path necessary for wabisuki was Zen. Supposedly, this was because they considered that Zen(not implying the school of Buddhism called ZEN) put its finger on how humans should be, and indicated a concrete method, ZAZEN(座禅,seated meditation), for reaching that way of being. Hence, the chanoyu that those individuals developed was not simply a way of making and drinking tea called chanoyu(in modern terms, chanoyu as an art or as a performance). What they aimed for was to reach the ZEN realm by having those who practiced it practice seated meditation. This is the wellspring of the later description of chanoyu as 'Tea and Zen, the same flavor'(chazen ichimi,茶禅一味) or 'Tea is at once ZEN'(cha soku zen,茶即禅).
Like the 'chill and lean'(冷え痩せ？) of chasuki, waka in wabisuki implies that the ideology underlying waka(classical Japanese poetry) and renga(collaborative verse-linking) is essential to it. With chasuki, the phrase 'chill and lean' included the idea of the Buddhist path, whereas in wabisuki, the Buddhist path and specifically ZEN stood independently as its foundation, and it was reasoned that, on top of this, the ideology that waka and renga realized was essential tochanoyu as well. The aim of Zen, by and large, was to cultivate the chanoyu practitioner as a human being and lead the person to a certain condition of self-realization, while there was in waka not only the 'chill and lean' ideology but the poetic spirit itself, which was considered necessary to cultivate the nature and manner of chanoyu in order for it to achieve a superb presence.
The 'choise of imlements' of chasuki and the 'connoisseur-ship' of wabisuki are similar, but in the latter, the selection of implements was based on the ideas of wabisuki, and this was judged by a strict criterion. Consequently, many Chinese imports(KARAMONO) left the field of chadogu, and domestic items(wamono),Korean items8KORAIMONO), and also imports from Southeast Asia and other areas(nanbanmono) were newly taken up as chadogu for wabisuki. The selection of implements in chasuki was roughly a matter concerning the two opposite poles of Chinese imports and domestic items, but the basis for connoisseurship was the wabisuki ideas, and also it may be said that importance was placed on the overall harmony of all the implements rather than judging each for its independent worthy qualities.
The above four points each characterize and represent the elements that were necessary for the realization of wabisuki. Devotion meant chanoyu training, Zen meant personal training as a human being, waka meant the presence that chanoyu possessed, and connoisseurship meant the selection and harmony of the implements.
These elements are not equal in level or ratio. We might think of them as positioned as follow: at the foundation is devotion, Zen rests on top of this, above that rests waka, and at the very top is connoisseurship.
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