When thinking about gardens, you probably immediately imagine flowers of different colors, trees of varying statures, and plants with diverse habits.
It's a place to visit when you want to see and experience a bit of nature. For some, it's a place of refuge from stressful city lives.
In many areas of the world, gardens are used for growing produce at home. For some, it is a place to sit in and enjoy the sun.
But what about a garden that has little to no plants at all, or a garden that focuses on the visitor's inner peace, rather than planting arrangement?
Would you be willing to visit a garden that focuses on spiritual growth, rather than plant growth?
At Home In The Garden
Zen gardens have been around for a while and it is a popular garden design that steers away from the common modern concept of gardens.
A Zen garden's contrasting minimalist design compared to common gardens is part of the appeal. Zen gardens are simply calming.
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Zen gardens are called Zen gardens for a reason. The term "Zen" originally refers to a school of Buddhism that emphasizes the importance of meditating on the Buddha's teachings. This specific type of zen garden is referred to as Karesansui or a Japanese rock garden.
Traditional Karesansui gardens are specifically designed for the Buddhist monks who would take hours from their days to sit next to nature in order to mediate their practice.
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Other Buddhist principles that are incorporated into Zen gardens. Some of these principles put focus on the experience of strolling in nature or finding relaxation while watching koi fish in the pond.
Some Zen gardens are focused on tea ceremonies that the monks would attend daily. It is very often that all these principles are interwoven with each other.
But in its very essence, a Zen garden's purpose is to be a place of meditation, which is what a Karesansui Zen garden is.
You do not have to be a practicing Buddhist monk in order to reap the benefits of a Zen garden. When you find yourself looking for a peaceful place to simply relax and enjoy the beauty of nature, Zen gardens are the perfect place for you.
Planting Your Feet On The Ground
Unlike other types of gardens, Zen gardens do not follow strict rules of design.
Modern Karesansui Zen gardens allow the visitor to appreciate the beauty of nature and ultimately experience some sort of calm and relaxation while inside the place.
Since Karesansui Zen gardens are very commonly connected to another type of Zen garden, you can choose to sit down, walk around, be a spectator of nature, or simply enjoy a cup of tea in silence.
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Nowadays, Zen gardens are more than a place for meditating monks. For many, it has become a place of refuge from not just their stressful city lives, but also from the general stress coming from our daily lives.
Karesansui and other types of Zen gardens serve as a reminder that apart from the busy, buzzing life we spend working and resting from work, nature is still there for us to simply appreciate and enjoy. Even if we do not practice meditation, Zen gardens can just be a place of silence, where we can let our busy feet touch the earth once in a while.