Zen Crafts

For a Zen craft, plant and sheer your own bonsai tree.

Zen is defined as a 6th-century Buddhist movement in China, and later a 12th-century Buddhist movement in Japan, that emphasizes enlightenment by means of contemplating your essential nature as separate from all else. To do this, the movement promotes meditation. To help with practicing this movement, try several Zen crafts that aid and enhance the meditative state.

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Zen Garden
- This small "garden" is actually a vessel containing fine-grained sand. You use this garden in meditation, busying your hands as you contemplate a specific problem or analyze internally a certain belief. It's also a source of relaxation outside of meditation, keeping your mind on the simplistic rather than focusing on unhealthy or stimulating thoughts. Fill a sturdy plate or a shallow, wide box with fine-grained sand. Place in this garden your favorite earthy elements, such as stones, pebbles, pieces of decorative or colored glass and foliage. Next, use a fork or a small, hand-held rake -- you can buy these in the craft section of most stores -- for moving the sand around when in contemplation. Change the garden decor as desired.
Handmade Mandala Wall Art
- Mandalas have Buddhist roots and are two-dimensional symbols displayed on an item, such as a wall or quilt. Each mandala contains smaller symbols and imagery, teaches a certain lesson and features traditional shapes, colors and sizes. These mandalas are then used as a point of focus during meditation. Reproduce your favorite mandala on a piece of muslin cloth of your choice using acrylic paints and a paint brush. You can also use your hands. After the mandala is dry, place it in a simplistic frame that fits its size and hang it in a focal area in your meditation room.
Potted Bonsai Craft
- The Zen movement centers on the essential part of life. As such, incorporate some nature in your meditation room and personalize it. For instance, grab a terra cotta planter and paint it a tone that matches your meditation area. This could be pure or calm tones, like white and gray, or vibrant tones, like red and blue. Leave it plain for a natural look. Plant inside the planter a small bonsai plant; this plant is generally associated with meditation and is a associated with the bonsai practice originating in Asia. Complete the planting process according to the plant's needs. Next, sheer and shape the plant into a form that is aesthetically pleasing to you; this is the essential nature of the bonsai practice. Place the plant in the meditation area and keep the plant's image by continually pruning and trimming.
Handmade Meditative Cushion
- Need a cushion to sit on during meditation? Make your own, using pieces of cloth and flat filling. Purchase two large pieces of cloth, the size, color and texture being your choice. Place these on top of each other so that the front of the cloth is facing outward on both sides. Place in between these pieces of cloth some flat batting; the amount you choose will depend on how fluffy you'd like the pillow to be. Using a sewing machine, or sewing by hand, stitch the two pieces of cloth together -- ensuring the batting is in between -- using a thread that's sturdy enough to keep the pillow intact and that matches the pillow's colors. Tie any loose threads and set it on the floor for your next meditation.