When is a garden not a garden?
When it’s a zen garden.
So, what is a zen garden?
Well, in a broad sense a garden is simply nature that’s been managed by people for amenity. There are many styles like formal, wild, traditional, cultural, physic or therapeutic, landscape, forest and so on. There’s even the notion of animals only in the term zoological garden (zoo!). And while the idea of boundaries is in the word “garden” (as in guard or keep out) it’s not necessarily a requirement as indicated by “landscape garden”.
And what about “zen”? Well, we’re really talking about little “z” rather than big “Z” as we’re focusing on the idea rather than a Buddhist practice, but they are related. The term Zen Garden is usually used as a loose translation of the Japanese kare-sansui or withered landscape (dry garden). We usually think of Zen gardens as being composed of carefully raked pebbles with placement of a few large rocks but few, if any, plants. They are sometimes called “Gardens of the Mind” and this offers insight in to the little “z” meaning, which is a space for calm and reflection. Traditionally they offer a minimalist landscape of rocks, gravel, and sand to create a serene environment for meditation and contemplation. Their design might symbolise natural features like mountains and water, promoting tranquillity conducive to quiet thought.
For us, zen gardens bring together perhaps the two most powerful guides to personal development: nature and breath. While traditionally Zen gardens are minimalist and have few if any plants, the symbolism of sand, pebbles and stone represent natural features like mountains and rivers. Aha! They are gardens without being gardens. Now that sounds zen!
It is reminiscent of Bruce Lee demonstrating “fighting without fighting” in Enter the Dragon. Challenged by another fighter, Lee’s character avoids physical conflict by distracting the aggressor and persuading him to step away to a place from which he can not return. What a peaceful approach to life. It recalls Sun Tzu advice in The Art of War to avoid fighting if possible.
Fighting without fighting seems such a strange concept that it stimulates curiosity and encourages you to think differently. That is how to allow new ideas to emerge from within, and that is the art of being, the art of zen, of flowing with the cosmic rhythm.
The feeling of being in a garden which is not a garden does nurture calm and reflective feelings. That enclosed space where sand and pebbles represent water and boulders represent mountains does somehow connect us to nature, calmly without the drama that nature can sometimes display. Yet, for us, being in a space with plants, soil, trees can be even more profound and does not require any special techniques for you to relax in to comfortable thoughts. So while Zen Gardens do nurture a peaceful mind, calm reflection and connection, being in nature can itself be more powerful.
Being in nature is increasingly known to deliver benefits to people. In some countries “be in nature” has become a doctors’ prescription. Studies explore how working soil with bare hands offers direct immediate therapy. In the human manufactured world more people are looking up from their desks or trades and looking for lifestyle changes that will help them get out of the concrete zoo (city) and find a more wholesome life in more rural spaces.
Our exploration of system change has happily brought us in to nature and we have found that our space at Ballin Temple (“place of sanctuary”) offers a direct connection to ancient nature which revives and rejuvenates tired minds and bodies. The ancient woodlands bordering the river offer a respite from the noise, smell and rush of “civilisation”. We step out of the cottage and walk in the woods to find peace and tranquillity. Simply walking a wooded path regulates breathing and one’s mind can reconnect with itself, relieve stress and reveal new ideas and ways forward. It might be woodland, but it is also a zen garden!
Being in a calm situation nurtures serenity. Sitting quietly, breathing with awareness, allows your heart to beat more calmly and encourages blood flow to the prefrontal cortex, the thinking, conscious area of the brain and away from the reptilian, instinctive, sympathetic hind-brain. So enjoying the serenity of a peaceful natural environment (like a garden) while breathing gently, calmly and deeply combines two powerful triggers for reflection.
Does it work? Always, for everyone. We’ve changed our whole outlook on life, reducing stress and finding that we can navigate the sterile dynamics of modern culture, like social media, jobs, administration and rush, rush, rush. It has been so valuable to us that we have been encouraged to curate “zen garden retreats”. The first retreats are being offered in a luxurious venue in the middle of the Mediterranean, which actually has a Zen garden, or at least elements of a Zen garden. And the retreats are designed to be very undemanding because it is space and time that is needed for people to explore answers to their lives, and these answers always come from within. These retreats are ideal for the early part of the year when temperatures are not too hot, but comfortable enough to enjoy, and offer a respite from the grey, damp, cold of northern Europe. As summer approaches we move the venue back to Ireland when the acres of ancient woodland on the banks of the Slaney, part of our “life laboratory” at Ballin Temple, offer a generous space for guests to relax, reconnect and rejuvenate.
So perhaps, in a way, Earth is a zen garden. We are part of nature and being in nature allows that connection to Earth and the spirit that lies beyond. Removing distractions of “civilisation” allows us to breathe and thereby relax in to the rhythm of life, connecting to the unseen energies that flow through the universe. Does that sound esoteric? If it does that is because humanity has been pushing nature aside of hundreds of years, especially the past 100 and we have lost our connection to ourselves and the universe. When we step away and breathe we can find ourselves again and that allows us to change our minds and thus change our world. Happiness is just a breath away. And nature is our guide, both from within and from outside of us.
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