Can you buy inner peace!?
Well, I don’t know what you think, but for me, finding tranquility in modern city lives seems kinda lost in the dazzling lights. We rarely listen to birds singing in a city. Even the polluted atmosphere took away all the freshness of nature.
Then where should we head to find our peace of mind when the city lives trying to transform us into mechanical humans.
My friend, the answer could be a beautiful Zen garden!
Yes, this Japanese rock garden can put your mind at ease as it is a great meditation resource.
Now get ready to know the answer of what is a Zen garden used for and what its benefits are through my today’s writing.
What Is A Zen Garden Used for? Symbolism & Benefits
Zen gardens were initially created as places for Buddhist monks to meditate and immerse into the teachings of the Buddha.
And the modern Japanese Zen garden represents a serene place where you can experience a sense of tranquility and inner peace.
Let’s take a deeper look at their purpose from here.
The Meaning & Purpose of A Zen Garden
The concept of this type of garden was introduced in Japan. In Buddhism, artistic practices such as the Zen garden play a significant role in their meditation and contemplation techniques.
The sole purpose of this rock garden was to offer the monks a location where they could spend some time in peace and think.
Even the process of making a Japanese rock garden is satisfying, and you can enhance your inner creativity by creating one for yourself.
In the 11th century, this meditative garden started to appear outside of the Buddhist temples. And by the 13th century, it had become a part of Japanese culture and living.
It is said that a Japanese Zen garden can bring harmony in the middle of our busy lives. When you are in such a landscape, your mind will find a place to experience awareness and emptiness.
Just like the panorama changes with the season, moss grows, and water puddles up in it, you will experience different phases of the garden.
These orchards consist of dry elements such as stone, gravel, or sand to recreate the essence of nature. And, the swirling patterns provide a soothing look to this garden.
According to Buddhist teachings, these lines have a calming effect on the mind. In ancient times, monks used to re-rake the patterns of the sand, which refers to the minds.
This act of raking can help you sort out your mind’s wandering thoughts.
I think gathering knowledge about the elements of a Zen garden and their meaning will help you understand the concept more precisely.
Zen Garden Design Elements And Symbolism
A Japanese rock garden is a sacred place to contemplate the lessons of Buddha. And the design plays a major role in terms of what they symbolize to Zen Buddhists.
For example, gravel or sand represents water. When a monk rakes the surface, he is creating the structure of waves just like those in an ocean.
The larger rocks that are set up on the sand portray seashores. Sometimes mosses are grown on top of the stone to create land hidden by the forest.
The orchard also features one fundamental stone, representing the center of the earth. Other smaller stones are placed surrounding the central stone to act as Buddha, worshiper, animals, and children.
When a rock garden contains other natural elements like trees, water, fish, plants, and so on, it symbolizes the philosophy that inconsistency is a part of our life.
Initially, plants were not included in a Japanese rock garden. But, now, they are used to enhance the orchard’s beauty. Ornamental Cherry trees are one of the popular choices because of their delicate pink color.
In the same way, water was added later to represent purification and cleansing. Although traditional Zen gardens don’t consist of water, some larger orchards consist of streams, ponds, and even waterfalls.
Temples that are situated in a Zen garden denote a place where man and spirit unite.
Each of the gardens is diverse and designed in a way that stimulates harmony, serenity, and meditation. It’s totally up to the spectator of the garden to find their own meaning from each element.
Each garden won’t hold the same meaning to the viewer as it did to the gardener. And this allows the garden to truly serve its main purpose: meditation through thought and reflection.
The Zen garden is an excellent embodiment of how artistry plays a huge role in Zen Buddhism and its meditation practice.
By the way, do you wanna know what Zen Buddhism is and its history?
Then, check out the following part.
Zen Buddhism & Meditation
Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism. And, it has a deep connection to Japanese culture.
A man from India named Siddhartha Gautama is the Buddha who established the concept of Zen back 2,500 years ago.
Zen is a Sanskrit word that means meditation, a way of attentiveness and self-discovery.
This practice lets anyone experience the value of living in the present. Through this adventure, Siddhartha Gautama was enlightened and became the Buddha.
Note that Zen Buddhism is not a piece of knowledge, an idea, or a concept. It’s also not a belief or dogma, just an experience of relieving the stress.
As Zen Buddhism is not ethical schooling, you aren’t required to have faith in anything. It’s because a genuine transcendent path doesn’t instruct people what to believe or what not.
Are you confused by all these philosophical definitions? Well, don’t worry because my next segment can help you understand Zen teachings.
Concept of Zen Teachings
Zen follows no exact philosophy or belief and has no principle that its supporters must trust.
It doesn’t pursue to sort out personal questions because these are not significant issues. What really matters is the present, the here and now, not the hereafter or the God, just the current minute.
Moreover, Zen firmly considers that no one actually knows the answers to the wandering questions of the mind due to our unsatisfactory condition.
It delightedly acknowledges the awareness that men are nothing more than their existence, and they can’t answer life’s complicated questions without tumbling into the deception of illusion.
No one can answer challenging questions regarding life and death.
Shortly, living the present to the fullest and finding tranquility through meditation is the core of Zen teachings.
Now, the question is, how a Zen garden can benefit you?
Okay, let’s find the answer.
Zen Garden Benefits
Gardening has physical as well as psychological benefits. And Zen garden is not an exception.
So by creating one, you can-
1. Get Relieved from Stress And Relax
Raking the garden’s sand or pebble can offer you relaxation of mind and relief from stress. If you are going to establish a large Zen garden in your yard, then pulling off the weeds and preparing the place can be a meditative act itself.
However, if you find it tiresome to build a giant garden, then go for the indoor one.
Each mini gardening element looks cute, and arranging them seems more fun than the large garden.
Trust me, creating a tiny Zen garden can prove to be the best experience you have ever had. And when you will place them on top of your office desk, looking at them can relieve you from workload stress too.
2. Enhance Your Creativity
When you work with placing different shapes of stones, rocks, plants, and sand in a design, it will increase your thinking capability.
After creating one, you can rearrange the elements in another pattern, which will always bring out a new version of your thought.
3. Practice Meditation
One of the hardest things about developing a new habit is remembering to do it on a regular basis.
When you see your garden, it will remind you to take time for meditation every day. The setting will act as a gentle reminder that you need to take care of your mental health as well as your physical.
4. Increase Concentration And Stay Focused
Working on your own Zen garden can increase your concentration and make you stay focused on what you are doing at the moment.
The calming process of maintaining each element has a great impact on the brain, and you are only gonna realize it once you start making your own Zen garden.
Watching the below video can help you to experience how calming the process is.
5. Refine Home Decor
A small rock garden in your home can add a classy vibe and create a peaceful environment.
It may even become a talk of the town for guests and neighbors who are not familiar with this type of garden.
6. Improve Physical Strength
Doing physical work such as digging can improve your health. Even any type of gardening is a great way to combine strengthening, stretching, and cardiovascular benefits into a fun activity.
Also, it can lead to many physical and mental benefits such as lower blood pressure and few symptoms of depression.
Now, after learning about the benefits, if you are interested in creating one, you may check out this writing, where we have provided a complete guideline.
Alright, as there is nothing left to inform you, I am concluding it here.
Conclusion
After going through the write-up, I hope you get a clear idea of what is a Zen garden used for.
Either you want a pop of color on your desk, a reminder to slow down and breathe, or a space to engage your body and mind, a Zen garden can be your ultimate solution.
Lastly, I wish nothing but the prosperity of your health and mind.