September 15 Lecture by Dr. SEN at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

On September 15, Dr. SEN Soshitsu XV gave a special public lecture at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the only museum in the U.S.A. that reserves an entire pavilion only for Japanese art objects. In his lecture, entitled "The Arts of Chado," he explained that a tearoom is more than a museum or an art gallery, and tea utensils are more than simple art objects protected by the glass walls of a showcase. For tea people, the tearoom mainly represents a place of spiritual training where they gather to experience mutual understanding by sharing a bowl of tea, to learn what harmony and respect are, and to give their tired minds the chance to rest in silence and to become one with Nature, far away from the boisterous life of the contemporary world. Dr. SEN asked the people in the audience to hold the hand of the person sitting next to them and to look into that person's eyes for a second. He said that the day we will be able to perform these acts without feeling embarrassed, world peace will not be too far away.       More than 600 people, including many citizens of Los Angeles for whom this program was their first introduction to chado, attended the lecture, which was followed by a much appreciated demonstration performed by disciples of the Grand Master who are active teaching chado in North America. After the demonstration, approximately 450 people visited the Japanese pavilion and had a bowl of tea, many of them tasting the frothy green drink for the first time in their life.

Dr. SEN explains about chado at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.	Urasenke chado instructors perform demonstration at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

End-of-event Party

The end of all the events was marked by a party organized at the Hotel New Otani. About 200 Urasenke chado followers from Los Angeles and Japan gathered to celebrate the success of the history-making North America Convention, to express their thanks to the organizing committee led by Robert HORI, chief of adminisrration of Chado Urasenke Tankokai Los Angeles Association, and to spend their last hours together dancing and having fun.

Scene at the end-of-event party.