Relaxing Zen Garden Tips

Why You Should Try Zen Gardening

JUNEANN REED
Relaxing in a Zen garden feels so great and immediately puts you at ease. Nature surrounds you, helping you clear your mind of unpleasantness. Zen gardens create a quiet focus as you meditate or pray. They were began by priests of Zen Buddhism.

You will probably note that your stress soon diminishes and your mind does clear of chaos. As you quietly contemplate your garden, your mind and body will work together to find truth and comfort.

Objects in a Zen garden, often abstract, represent symbolic islands, mountains, special elements and scenes. Stone and shaped shrubs are used in the ever-changing garden. Your garden is meant to be viewed from certain positions, often a seated position in or near-by the garden. [You may think of bonsai plants and trees and how they are carefully and constantly shaped as you begin to move your Zen garden process from drawing to the real thing.]

These living gardens are usually built on a framework of stable elements. That architecture is a basic element of many of the gardens. These can include buildings, paths, stone, sand and other types of architecture. Bridges and beautiful lanterns are also incorporated in the garden plan. The joy of keeping a great Zen garden is keeping it trained by pruning. The goal is to make it look like a lovely painting. Belief is that Zen gardens originated because of inspiration of early Chinese and later Japanese paintings.

Dry gardens are a style unique to Japan and they use only stone arrangements, white sand, moss and well-pruned trees. Often the sand or gravel is raked to give the impression of waves or rippling water. These lines are extremely important in helping the Zen gardener focus or meditate on his or her creation. Challenges creep in because of the intricate variation of nature itself. These dry gardens do not include streams.

When you plan and work on your Zen garden, diligently strive to have best sides of all rocks showing. This may sound crazy, but as you begin working with stone in your Zen garden, you'll quickly realize the beauty and uniqueness of the sides of stones. Sometimes that means that stones may lean and need another stone to hold up the best side of the leaning stone.

For great views of Japanese gardens, you may click on the website suggested. It is helpful to view these beautiful Zen gardens prior to moving quickly in planning your own garden.

Take time to grow your Zen garden. The idea is calmness and stress reduction. It doesn't need to be completed in a few hours. Enjoy.

Published by JUNEANN REED

Juneann, now retired, worked as a professional non-profit fund raiser for 16 years. She also worked in an adult care center directing activities for seniors and during her husband's accute illness was presi...  View profile

  • Do you want a place of your own to pray or meditate?
  • Do you have to much stress and want to enjoy the out-of-doors more often?
  • Do you want to plant a "different" type of garden?
Zen gardens are mostly abstract interests showing scenes and other natural elements. They began because of the early Chinese and Japanese garden paintings.

To comment, please sign in to your Yahoo! account, or sign up for a new account.