The Sogen-chi Garden: Tenryu-ji (Kyoto)

The Zen garden is not merely for appreciating its beauty but is the essential place for meditation as part of the spiritual practice of Zen Buddhism.

Monks keep sitting quietly on the floor of Hojo (main hall), devotedly gazing at the peaceful garden to silence their chattering minds and quietly observing their streams of boiling delusions to erase them completely.

To reach the transcendent awakening of Zen, "San-doku" (the three mental poisons that dirty the mind of man), that is to say, the burning desire, anger, and ignorance based on the survival instinct, must be washed away and inhibited. The path to spiritual enlightenment is fundamentally obstructed by the dirty delusions caused by these deadly poisons.

Viewing the garden with a calm mind is the daily practice of watching inward and "Sen-shin" (washing one's mind). Sen-shin means the washing away of San-doku to enter into nirvana and attain supreme enlightenment.

The tranquil garden of Tenryu-ji serves as a place for both appreciation and contemplation (spiritual cultivation). Gazing quietly at Sogen Pond from the Hojo, the peaceful view of Arashiyama and Kameyama mountains is integrated with the garden's glassy pond. Thus the nature, the garden, and the mind must shape the clear, visual appearance of the very essence of Zen Buddhism.

The Sogen-chi Garden: Tenryu-ji (Kyoto)

The Zen garden, or the garden for meditation, is the most important place within Zen Buddhist temples, which embodies the essence of practice, philosophy, and aesthetic sensibility of Zen.

The Zen garden symbolically expresses the truths of our nature and universe without any verbal explanation. Rather than realistically recreating the view of actual nature and the universe, it evokes enlightenment in the viewer's mind by visualizing the "Ku" (emptiness) and "Mujo" (the state of flux) by the use of water, stones, gravel, trees, plants, and so on.

The Zen term "Ku" refers to the fundamental Buddhist concept that all things lack a fixed, inherent essence and are void, like just a fleeting day-dream. Because of our ignorance, we always fail to notice this truth. Our universe keeps arising and vanishing in a flash through the infinite interconnection between cause and effect.

The Zen garden serves as a place for “contemplation” (Kanso) during practice. Monks sit in the Hojo (the main hall), gaze at the garden, and silence their minds completely to shut out idle thoughts from their minds. Because thinking is the source of any delusion that hinders us from a spiritual awakening.

This allows them to intuit the deep movements of their mind and train themselves to attain a pure state of "Muga" (the perfect selflessness) away from all noisy thoughts.

The Zen garden is the intermediate gate that connects our earthy world (the human realm) and Nirvana (the realm of supreme enlightenment).  Passing through this gate, practitioners can detach from the stained delusions of daily life and enter into the purified land of mind that Buddha taught.

The Sogen-chi Garden: Tenryu-ji (Kyoto)

 

Pond garden: Chishaku-in Temple (Kyoto)

The first time in half a year, I visited Kyoto just after the lively Hanami (cherry‐blossom viewing) season. 

Chishaku-in Temple is the head temple complex of the Chizan School of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism, which is located in Higashi-yama (eastern mountain) district of Kyoto.

This tranquil pond garden, that is beautifully composed of an artificial mountain, stone arrangements, and a deep-green winding pond, is said to represent the mystical landscape of Mount Lushan and the Yangtze River in China. 

The Chozubachi (stone washbasin) placed on the edge of the eaves modestly emphasizes the refined perspective of this mountain-and-water landscape.

This garden in front of the Hojyo (large study hall) has been designated as one of the gardens of scenic beauty which Sen-no-Rikyu is said to have been particularly fond. Sen-no-Rikyu is known as the founder of Wabi-cha (hermitage tea ceremony) and is called the greatest tea saint.

This tasteful landscape takes advantage of the topography of the slope at the foot of the Higashi-yama of Kyoto. 

The various greeneries and flowers, which are changing ceaselessly at every season, keep adorning this miniature landscape surrounded by the mirror-like surface of the water, which must symbolically reflect the ever-changing aspects of nature and the timeless flux of our human minds.

Pond garden: Chishaku-in Temple (Kyoto)

The droplets of water falling intermittently from the gaps in the stonework strike the tranquil surface of the pond water to continue creating faint sounds and ripples. 

The subtle sounds of the water drops suddenly break the stillness of the garden and, like the sharp impact of "Kyosaku" (Zen stick) in Zen meditation, break the slumber of the our minds and awake us to the meaning of stillness again.

The intricately arranged beautiful stones of this garden must represent the magnificent appearance of the abrupt canyons deep in the mountains.

The stone is a symbol of eternity, which maintains its form forever without being affected by anything. At the same time, the stone keeps transforming bit by bit like a living creature, changing its figure from moment to moment under the ever-changing sunlight, rain, wind, and snow.

Pond garden: Chishaku-in Temple (Kyoto)

Pond garden: Chishaku-in Temple (Kyoto)

Higashiyama of Kyoto is famous for the beauty of the Mid-autumn Moon. When the autumnal equinox approaches, the bright full moon rises high above this pond garden and reflect its serene moonlight on the still surface of the water.

On such a moonlit night, this narrow stone bridge over the pond would lead us to the island mountain, which is faintly illuminated by the clear moon and the twinkling light of the stone lantern.

This artificial mountain may symbolically represent Hourai island (Mount Penglai) which is the enchanted island of perpetual youth in Chinese mythology.

Pond garden: Chishaku-in Temple (Kyoto)

 

Pond garden: Chishaku-in Temple (Kyoto)

 

Pond garden: Sanjusangen-do Temple (Kyoto)

The golden yellow flowers of Yamabuki (Japanese rose) are quietly reflecting in the dark green pond that spreads out in front of the fresh vermilion cloister. 

The pale pink blossoms of the weeping cherry are subtly swaying in the mild breeze as if to try to gently touch the stone arrangement which may symbolize the classic Shaka triad (a group of 3 Buddhist images composed of Shaka Nyorai flanked with 2 boddhisatvas).

What characterizes this graceful garden is thought to be the well-selected garden-rocks arranged artfully around the pond. 

The garden, which has been recently restored, is based on the classical landscape gardening design, while at the same time it skillfully incorporate a certain modern expression that suggests the aesthetic sense common with contemporary sculptures.

Yae-zakura flowers: Sanjusangen-do Temple (Kyoto)

Sanjusangen-do Temple (hall) is renowned for the 1001 gilded images of Senju Kannon (thousand-armed bodhisattva of divine mercy) enshrined within it. 

Kannon in Mahayana Buddhism is the young saint who remains in the human world as a Nirvana Buddha in order to compassionately save people and all living things from all kinds of suffering in this world. 

The thousand-armed bodhisattva has the thousand arms for relieving a thousand kinds of pains and agonies in this world.

This temple is located in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto and is the prestigious Buddhist temple of the Tendai sect. 

It was founded in 1164 by shogun Taira-no-Kiyomori for the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa. It is officially known as Rengeo-in Temple (lotus-king temple) and belongs to the Myoho-in (lotus-sutra temple) complex.

Pond garden: Sanjusangen-do Temple (Kyoto)

 

Ariake zakura flowers: Sanjusangen-do Temple (Kyoto)

 

Chokusimon-gate: Ninnaji Temple (Kyoto)

I visited Ninna-ji Temple to enjoy the Omuro-zakura cherry blossoms for the first time in a while year. 

This abnormally warm winter has significantly accelerated the blooming of the Sakura trees. Although they are ordinarily in full bloom during this period, unfortunately a majority of the pale pink blossoms have fallen and gone just before I arrived. 

The Omuro cherry blossoms in their sudden waning stage made me keenly aware of the uncertainty and transience of this floating world.

This elaborate gate is the imperial envoy gate to the south garden of the Shiro-shoin (white reception building) of the Shinden (emperor palace) complex.

This gate indicates the Shikyaku-mon (four-legged gate) style with a gabled gable roof on the side with a cypress bark roof. The walls and doorways are covered with admirable wood carvings of the auspicious designs of water chestnuts, phoenixes, arabesques, and other motifs.

This temple is the prestigious "Monzeki" temple whose head priests were members of the Imperial family through the ages as the head temple of the Omuro school of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism. It was founded by Emperor Uda in the end of 9th century, and was reconstructed in the 17th century.

Chokusimon-gate: Ninnaji Temple (Kyoto)

 

Fallen petals: Ninnaji Temple (Kyoto)

 

North garden: Ninnaji Temple (Kyoto)

The Ninna-ji Imperial Palace Garden is the garden originally created in the mid-Edo period and renovated by "Ueji" Ogawa Jihei VII (1860-1933) during the reconstruction of the Shoin and Shinden (the emperor's former residence and the head temple of the Shingon sect of Buddhism).  

Ueji (his common name) is the most renowned landscape architect representing the modern era of Japan, who created many notable Japanese gardens during the Meiji and Taisho periods.

The Ninna-ji Palace Garden consists of two gardens, that is " Minami-niwa" (the south garden) and "Kita-niwa" (the north garden). There is also a courtyard with beautiful moss and autumn leaves. The pond has a waterfall stone structure, and water cascades down with calm sound.

The landscape of these gardens is gracefully composed of the large pond with a stone bridge in the center facing the Shinden, the old tea houses on the slope behind it, the area of white sand, the beautiful Chokushi-mon gate, and the five-story pagoda outside the garden.

North garden gate: Ninnaji Temple (Kyoto)

 

North garden: Ninnaji Temple (Kyoto)

 

Omuro-ariake zakura flowers: Ninnaji Temple (Kyoto)