Zen Buddhism and Japanese Garden Arrangement

Abstract

Japanese arts influenced by Buddhism and mixed with old Japanese beliefs. This becomes a design and concept of garden arrangement which concerns with philosophical Buddhist teaching and reflect the knowledge of Japanese garden that is different from other countries. General Japanese garden can be generally divided into 3 kinds; 1) Mountain Garden 2) Dry Mountain-water Garden 3) Tea Garden. Each one has unique landscape, especially trees for decoration, location, and benefits of garden. Garden which reflects the concept of Zen is Dry Mountain-water Garden, especially Dry Landscape Garden which has sands and gravels to replace grass or moss assume water and paved rocks assume island. This garden mostly signifies a Buddhist philosophy because it emphasizes the minimalism, simplicity, and frugality for getting nearest to the nature. For Tea Garden, it mixes the highlights of Mountain Garden with Dry Mountain-water and specially emphasizes on tea ceremony or Sado.
Japan derives this ceremony from Chinese culture and applies to garden arrangement which has tea house for tea-making. Japanese tea ceremony emphasizes on mindfulness in every moment from making, pouring, till drinking. This is mindful of all activities. Mindfulness and tea-drinking are the same. Nothing separates tea and tea-drinker. Therefore, tea ceremony is the way to practicing awareness to apply in daily life whether it is Tea Garden or Zen Garden, is popular to arrange tea ceremony at the corner of temple.