No one knows how long The Teahouse At The Edge Of The World has been there, or where it came from. Some people say it came from “nowhere,” and some people say it has just always been there, like the sun. This seems like the likeliest story.

What is known is that it is impossible to go directly to The Teahouse At The Edge Of The World. One must just “find” him or herself there. It is not listed on any maps and is certainly not in any guidebooks. Some people say it exists in some kind of subliminal zone, just outside the periphery of consciousness. I have also been told that it is only by a “spiritual journey” that one can arrive there.

Another very interesting thing about The Teahouse At The Edge Of The World is that it looks and feels different to the different people who “end up” there. To some people it is a tiny shack; to others it is a palace. And the tea servers one meets there also are very different. They can be anything from an old woman to a ravishing young one.

As mentioned, one cannot go there on purpose or by following any sort of map or set of instructions, at least not in the literal sense. Everyone who seems to find themselves there feels like it is some kind of accident or perhaps even divine intervention.

Yet for every person who “finds” themselves there, he or she experiences some kind of “magical” healing.

Solala Towler is author of 14 books, including Practicing the Tao Te Ching: 81 Steps On the Way, Tales From the Tao, Inner Chapters of Chuang Tzu, The Spirit of Zen, Tea Mind Tea Heart and Cha Dao: The Way of Tea.