They should be balanced and create a harmonious experience all together. On a symbolic level, the tearoom serves as a cognitive model of the Taoist universe. The middle square is the abode of the Tao. Each of the trigrams is further associated with a direction, an attribute such as wind, water, fire, etc., and a virtue such as strength, pleasure, and so forth. The use of the ritual space of the tearoom correlates with the virtues of the trigrams.
Guests enter from the direction associated with flexibility or penetration.
The main guest sits on the mat segment linked with resting. The host makes his entrance from the direction of submission and sits on the segment related to pleasure. Tea is prepared in the area of the room connected with strength and power and the completed bowl of tea is placed on the middle half mat assigned to the Tao. The segment of peril, or difficulty, is normally left unused in the tearoom. Tea and Buddhism Zen Buddhism in Japan is itself a synthesis of Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, and Shinto ideas and traditions.