12 May introduction to tea tasting evening

Gongfucha -- Gongfu tea – Taitotee  in Helsinki 12 May 2014

Tervetuloa! Nimeni on Päivi Kuusela. Synnyin kiinalaisen, amerikkalaisen ja suomalaisen mailman risteyskohtaan, ja tämä luonnollisesti myös heijastuu yritystoiminnassani. Kiinan kielen ja liikekulttuurin koulutustoimintani ohessa järjestän myös teehetkiä yhteisöllisyyden rikastuttamiseksi. Usein nämä tapahtumat rakentuvat erilaisten teeemojen ympärille.

Perinteisesti kiinalaisen kulttuuripiirin alueella tee, taiteet ja yhteiskunnallinen keskustelu ovat kuuluneet yhteen. Oppineet keittivät teetä lähdevedestä ja kokoontuivat puutarhapaviljonkeihin keskustelemaan ja nauttimaan taiteista, esimerkiksi runoudesta.

Tästä ajatuksesta minulle on syntynyt haave luoda sellaisia teenmaisteluhetkiä, joissa yhdistyisi taide ja yhteiskunnallinen keskustelu. Tämä sarja on muodostunut tämän haaveen pohjalta...sarjan teemana on ekososiaalisen hyvinvoinnin rakentaminen, jossa ihmiskeskeisyys ja luonnon kunnioitus ovat kestävän kehityksen keskiössä. Samalla tavalla kuin kestävän kehityksen haasteet, idän ja lännen kohtaaminen on myös asia, joka tarvitsee ajatuspaja-tyyppistä lähestymistä

CONTINUES IN ENGLISH:

Because of our English speaking guests, I will speak partly in English. The Finnish translation of my short introduction has been given to you in paper form. English-Finnish translation will be provided throughout the evening.

When training Chinese business culture, Confucianism is a central theme for me. Confucianism has a rich virtue heritage. The Chinese world also places heavy importance on form and symbolism. In the example below symbolism and virtues interact

Phoenix (feng凤)

The phoenix is the ‘king of birds’ and symbolises good fortune and opportunity as it appears only in times of peace and prosperity. In Chinese mythology, the phoenix is a benevolent bird since it does not harm insects, and each of its body parts represents one of the virtues of benevolence (ren 仁 ),

righteousness (yi 義),

propriety (li礼),

knowledge (zhi 智)

and sincerity (xin 信).

For me, gongfucha is a celebration of skill and wisdom, to which the theme of balance is very much inter-related. Virtue can be seen to be the golden way in the middle of two extremes. Virtue is about balance. Virtue and skill are not automatic in nature, but require training... Gongfu means skill that has been acquired through training.

For example when studying dance, one realizes that training, stretching and bending are required. This can sometimes even hurt.

So it is with the search for wisdom; sometimes we must let go of our own magnificent plan in the light of the brilliance of Wisdom. The art of letting go…

For me the Gongfucha tea brewing method symbolizes the search for wisdom and skill as potrayed in Proverbs 2. One translation in Finnish says “ ...to apply (bend) one´s heart to understanding?”

Proverbs 2

The Value of Wisdom (my two notes like this)

... if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you,So that you incline your ear to wisdom,And apply (BEND) your heart to understanding;Yes, if you cry out for discernment,And lift up your voice for understanding,If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.

For the Lord gives wisdom (A HER!); from His mouth come knowledge and understanding…

Finally,

As a social entrepreneur, I am interested in finding ways of doing balanced business, business that is in harmony with both nature and my community. In more detail, my research question is how to

"not only look to your interests, but also to the interests of others"

Thank you

Ville Sorsa & Puer @ Think Tank Tea 1.4! Respect!

Next event will be on Tuesday 22.4 6PM welcome! Details belowwhere you can also RSVP!
Seuraava tapahtuma tulee olemaan tiistaina 22.4 klo 18 alkaen. Lisätietoja alla olevasta facebook eventistä, johon pyydämme ilmoittautumiset jotta voimme kohdentaa tarjoilut.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1395790750694798/

In answer to a question today that I had difficulty answering at first

Why?

Background of upcoming series 

"On Tea, Virtue & Balance" Ever since I can remember, one key resource that I have had is tea. Having been born into a life in-between worlds, tea has been a factor that has linked these worlds for me. Tea brings people together, and there is something divine in people coming together. 

We become who we are through a complex web of interaction and encounter. I am, because you are, and I am all the more richer because of my community.  To explore shared meanings, understandings while respecting and valueing difference: this for me, is encounter. Together, we are stronger. Often we think that it is a sign of weakness to need another. Although we need a balance in everything, it is not a sign of weakness to need another - togetherness is actually within the Divine plan. 

But how to measure that balance? Virtue, it has been said, is the middle ground between two extremes. When we cultivate understandings of virtue - and virtue itself, we cultivate balance. Virtue is at the core of the best we can be. It is also at the core of the best economy that we can build. In Finnish, the degrowth economy is called "kohtuutalous" , which speaks of an economy that is balanced and "reasonable". 

If balance is virtue, then can an economy be virtuous (everyone please allow this mindplay)? To my mind, yes, if its function is to serve instead of subdue. The ancients in China believed that those who govern should govern by virtue. To my mind, this is an example for us today even on the grassroots level! As each of us governs as king or queen of our own castle, of our own microcosmos, we are to govern with virtue. What do we govern? That which we have influence over. In our own microcosmos, we hold the scepter of authority and can make choices. This is my vantage point and starting point for reform. 

Again an ancient Chinese wisdom speaks of the ramifications of reforming oneself. As we strive for balance, in our lives, the small waves - when combined- form larger ones in a way that the larger currents of society are affected. Balance masters chaos! The reform of the global financial architecture takes place from the bottom up. For me, revolution in this context is about acting in the opposite way as that which has poisoned this global financial architecture; the opposing force of solitary greed is communal generosity. 

My way of making a change in the marketplace has been to sow the seed of generosity when possible. At a time in my life where I had very limited resources, I asked myself the question of what is a resource that I can share? What I had was, tea. And so I began sharing the tea, the main idea being: I share my tea to bring people together, and as everyone comes together and shares - life knowledge or other resources, maybe the jam- we are all enriched!  My adventure of exploring what it means for a business to function in a degrowth economy is only beginning, but one key lesson that I have learned is that much value can be created with very little. It is this story that is continued by the upcoming Think Tank Tea- event series. 

Today somebody told me that "money makes the world go round". This is my answer!

Read in Preparation for 22.4.2014 Think Tank Tea! -event

Read over tea today:

"Addressing a sustainable economy is for me an economy which upholds a socially and ecologically just society, locally, which in turn has important ramifications globally. The dominant economic paradigm in which economic growth is seen as a panacea, continues to generate globally inequalities, as well as ecological havoc by its using up of natural resources.

Instead, it seems useful to be looking at alternative paradigms which put people and nature first, and which make people and not corporate profit interests, the producers of value. At the Peoples Summit of the Rio+20 Conference in June in Brasil, where I participated, such alternative paradigms were prominently present and debated, such as that of Solidarity Economy building and the Commons.

The idea of a Solidarity economy has been developed since the 1980’s, especially in Latin America, and has been taken forward in processes as the World Social Forum.  In this approach, economy is about the whole of how “we as human beings collectively generate livelihoods in relation to each other and to the Earth” (Miller 2004), and we are being urged to look at the economies that we build with our everyday lives and relationships. “Maintaining social life” is the primary goal of these “people’s economies”."

Excerpt from "Sustainable Economy" By Ruby Van Der Wekken
http://www.sitra.fi/blogi/kestava-talous-foorumi/ruby-van-der-wekken-sustainable-economy