The Glocal Book:"The Book of Tea" by Okakura Kakuzou(Tenshin)-No.10

A Good Action by Stealth & the Art of Concealing Beauty

"A good action by stealth" is the fundamental way of oriental conception. It may be Confucian ideas influence. In Japan, "Bushido, the way of Japanese chivalry" also had the strong effect on the maind. It is the "Shame Culture". Many japanese were very sensible to shame. Recentry, I regret to say that japanese might pass out of mind. After the world war second, we japanese have to work hard for national wealth, and tend to forget about traditional culture. Now, we have to clear the difference between the nationalism and the patriotism, and think about Japanese culture from the Glocal standpoint. Let's think about "The Imperfect".
「Charles Lamb, a professed devotee,　sounded the true note Teaism when he wrote that the greatest pleasure he knew was to do a good action by stealth, and to have it found out by accident. For Teaism is the art of concealing beauty that you may discover it, of suggesting what you dare not reveal. It is the noble secret of laughing at yourself, calmly yet thoroughly, and is thus humour itself,-the smile of philosophy. All genuine humourists may in this sence be called tea-philosophers,-Thackeray, for instance, and, of course, Shakespeare. The poets of the Decadence (when was not the world in decadence?), in their protects against materialism, have, to a certain extent, also opened the way of Teaism. Perhaps nowadays it is in our demure contemplation of the Imperfect that the West and the East can meet in mutual consolation.」
From The Book of Tea-the Cup of Humanity pp.14-15(Charles E. Tuttles Co. Rutland, Vermont- Tokyo,Japan)

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