Importance of Japanese Zen Gardens

Zen gardens are designed to invoke peacefulness.

The Japanese Zen garden began with the Buddhist temple. Pleasure gardens migrated into Japan with Buddhism, making the journey from Himalayan temple gardens that carbon date at over 10,000 years old. Spiritual gardens became popular to invoke peace and tranquility. A pleasure garden invokes contemplation, serenity and appreciation of beauty, all spiritual qualities needed in order to cultivate a Zen mind.

History

East Indian historians are quick to point out that Zen sounds innately like dyan, a Sanscrit word that means "meditation." This word, when pronounced by a Japanese speaking person comes out sounding like "zen." The Zen meditation garden, then, has its roots in the older spiritual culture of east India, and Buddha also was practicing Indian style meditation when flowering himself into the Buddha we know of commonly today. Indian historians tell the story of Bo Yang, who migrated into China and taught Kriya Yoga, according to scriptures recorded in Himalayan temples such as Kedarnath. Bo Yang began developing the techniques for the local people, and later, changed his name to an easier to pronounce Lao Tsu, who began writing down the teachings that became the Tao Te Ching.

Significance

Many Zen gardens do not contain plants and are meant to represent water; the rocks are there to remind us of mountains sitting before the calm mind. The rake represents how we use our thoughts and make them into patterns. The rake is also used to help make patterns similar to water ripples, so peace in the presence of a stark environment are brought into the viewers mind. The rake also represents the gardener who is the one who is in charge of the ripples of thought that pass through the mind.

Considerations

Japanese garden art is often offset by a single, stark color.

Pleasure gardens in general hail from the Himalayan temples of the regions above China and India today. The popularity of gardening for spiritual renewal began in these temple settings, and the Zen versions were developed by Japanese monks true to the teachings of Buddha in order to evoke deeper meaning in more ordinary places. This is the need that stimulated the development of the tabletop and miniature Zen rock gardens.

Potential

The visitor to the garden should hold a clear understanding of the purpose of a Zen rock garden. This brings greater peace into the moment. This happens simply by contemplating the nature of sand, waves and rocks. By understanding the realities within nature, such as patience, simplicity and clean lines with few distractions, any person can improve on the condition of the overactive mind. Practicing this quiet, still contemplation offered by the Zen garden can bring enormous benefits to anyone who is caught in the unproductive time warp of too much to do, and still more to be done.

Function

The Zen garden is a creation of monks who sought to represent the simplicity and harmony of life.

Archaeologists dug up traces of rock gardens from the time of Empress Suiko, in 592 AD. The early 700s is when Zen Buddhism began to have a massive influence on Japanese society. The Zen garden is a creation of monks who sought to represent the simplicity and harmony of life through this art medium. This contemplative brilliance is what delivers it in miniature to many office desktops today.

References

• Kwintessential: Japanese Zen Garden