Zen Gardens Essay, Research Paper
The art of garden-making in Japan goes back to the 6th century, when hill and pond gardens were introduced from China and Korea, where aristocrats gathered to enjoy poetry and games alongside a stream. Japanese monks further developed gardens into a high art over hundreds of years of temple gardening. They emptied their minds of worldly distractions and came to know themselves in their gardens.
Rocks and Stones bring powerful symbolism to a Zen garden. The creators of Japanese Zen gardens have strong appreciation of rocks- striking rocks with character. The timeless quality of rock can be contrasted with the fluid quality of sand – to express both the permanence and permanence and changeability of the world. Formations of rock may be composed to resemble a mountain range in miniature, while smaller groups can symbolize the Isles of the Blessed in the Western Seas. Some of the most popular and powerful rock groupings in Japanese gardens are those that represent the crane and turtle. But these representations remain deliberately vague because it is up to the onlooker of the Zen garden to approach each arrangement of stone individually. You may put any rocks in the garden you wish – some that are eccentric or fiery, saintly, heroic or flat like a boat. Rocks once chosen, are not simply placed on the surface but buried two-thirds into the ground, to appear as natural outcrops. The direction of the rocks edges and ridges and their overall placement in relation to each other are carefully considered to allow the free ex
Stones are the foundation of the garden. Sand in the rock garden creates simplicity and serenity. Usually the sand, symbolizing the empty mind, is raked in swirls, resembling the way water edges stones and islands. The swirls can impart a feeling of raging or gentle lapping water, depending on their design. The sand also symbolizes the ocean around the island of Japan while the rocks placed in the garden, represent Japan itself. Various colors of sand can also be used as in real rock gardens – black to give an imposing formality, brown for a subdued and refined look and the purest white to set off the rocks even more starkly. Spontaneity and experimentation are the key. The Zen garden is after all a launching pad – a place where thoughts take off from and come back to.