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The Zen Garden Aesthetic
Zen gardens are certainly beautiful to look at, but they are much more than decorative gardens. Zen gardens reflect the principals of an ancient philosophy and offer spiritual fulfillment for anyone that meditates upon their beauty. Originally from India, Zen gardens have travelled the world with Zen Buddhism. Since that time, they have been used in temples as well as private residences as a meditation aid designed to bring peace and serenity to their owners.
Watching It: the Zen Aesthetic
Every design element of a Zen garden teaches the observer a lesson about life through the teachings of the Buddha. Zen gardens are meditation tools, designed to focus and still the mind. When contemplating the beauty and lessons of the garden, the troubles of the world slip away and the mind becomes closer to knowing peace.
The stones of a Zen garden represent the immovable mountain, and the spiritual strength that stillness of the mind provides. The asymmetry of their arrangement represents the asymmetry of the world. Buddhism teaches that not only is there no perfection in the world, but that imperfection should be embraced because it generates flow and creative energy in the universe.
The water, the negative space in the garden, represents the Zen theory of mu (nothingness) which teaches that a mind empty of worry is a peaceful one. The waves created in the sand represent water's ability to cleanse and purify and the flow of spirit (or chi). Contemplating their stillness in silent meditation helps the Zen gardeners mind find its own still point.
The Peace of the Zen Gardener
When the stress and negative energy of the day begin to weigh in, tending Zen gardens help to heal and relax the mind, body and spirit. When the sand is raked in slow, deliberate strokes that coincide with slow, deep breaths it helps the gardener reach a meditative state and empty his or her mind.
The most beautiful principle behind the daily act of creating and arranging a Zen garden is the Buddhist teaching of self-reliance to achieve enlightenment.
When "cultivating" a Zen garden, the gardener cultivates self-love and acceptance. There is no wrong way to design a Zen garden. The very act of individuality that takes place when the Zen gardener creates a visual path to spiritual enlightenment through meditation from a blank canvas is a lesson in and of itself.
The size of the Zen garden doesn't matter. A Zen Garden that covers acres is no less spiritually fulfilling than one that covers a space no bigger than a notebook. Every Zen garden cultivates spiritual peace and fulfillment for anyone who tends it or meditates the beautiful simplicity of its lessons. Zen gardens lead their owners on the path to spiritual enlightenment by teaching them the Buddhist principles of stillness and self-reliance. But one doesn't have to be a Buddhist to find peace and fulfillment through a Zen garden. Meditation is an important part of all spiritual paths, and anyone can benefit from its guidance.
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