An Introduction to Zen Gardens

The reasons why gardens are so popular is that it gives you a sense of peace and adds beauty to your surroundings. It teaches you to care for and nurture a living thing and also gives you a sense of pride to see your garden flourish. It’s sad that not all places are suitable to grow plants and not all environments are conducive to their growth. In these cases, the best alternative is to have a Zen Garden.

Zen gardens or rather rock and sand gardens go way back in history, to 592 AD during the reign of Empress Suiko. These gardens are known for their minimalistic beauty and the calming effect it has on your mind. It is said that Zen monks widely spread the concept of Zen gardens as it went perfectly with their ideas of simplicity and harmony. It also was a place for the monks to contemplate upon nature and search for the freedom of the mind. According to Zen one had to train their mind and this was done through moving meditation in the form of raking patterns in the sand.

If you noticed, Zen gardens focus on sand, stone, and gravel and not so much on living plants. The sand or gravel is fashioned to look like waves rippling through the waters of seas or oceans and the stones represent islands. If you look at a Zen Garden, it should look like an aerial view of a coastline.

There is so much thought and detail that goes into a Zen Garden that one of Japan’s most prominent gardens is still well known because of its design. Like most other Zen gardens, it too has only rocks and sand, but it’s unique because you can only spot 14 out of the 15 rocks in the garden. No matter what angle you look at it from, one rock is always out of sight. As the legend goes, you can spot all 15 rocks only when you achieve enlightenment.

If this has piqued your interest in Zen gardens, do follow our blog, we’ll show you the simplest and best ways to start your very own Zen gardens at home. If you feel that you need more space at home for a garden, just visit NoBroker by clicking below, you’ll find a home that fits your needs.