Zen

THE ART OF ZEN

“Junk is something you’ve kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.” I’m at Alan’s house in Dublin. Alan is a friend of mine who has, up until recently, been a bit of a high flier in the pharmaceutical industry and has now retired. He is taking things easy and being middle aged and single seems to have adapted to it very well. His flat is very uncluttered, or you could say it was minimalist in design. “I got rid of most of my things when I finished work” he tells me. “I always aspired to Percy Shaw (the man that invented the cat’s eyes on the road). He made his millions with a simple invention and lived in an empty house with a tea chest for a chair and a telly, which has always sounded good to me.” He laughs.

Alan doesn’t think much to domesticity either. “I have so little clutter in the house that the only type of housework I need do is to sweep the room with a glance.” He’s not joking as following in Percy’s footsteps Alan has just a couple of chairs, TV and stereo in the room with a scattering of magazines and a coffee table. “The table keeps things off of the floor and I don’t have to bend too much to pick things up.”

RELAXING
Alan’s job was stressful so he certainly makes the most of any time to relax. “I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t have enough to do when I stopped working” he continues “I decided to clear out the garden and it’s turned out to be the best alternative therapy I could ever wish for.” Alan opens the double patio doors into the garden and proudly shows me his work…a simple Zen Garden.

Alan’s garden is about 100 square metres and surrounded by a high wooden fence, which helps to create a feeling of privacy. Gone is the lawn and in its place are four very simple raised beds, which have been dissected by straight paths. “Here’s it is,” Alan says proudly as we walk into his outside room. “It is only when you start a garden like this that you realise something important happens every day.” He says philosophically.




AS INDIVIDUAL AS YOU
“They are really easy to make, you don’t need any woodworking skills as the wood yard cuts all the planks for you, all I did was nail them together.” Alan goes into a bit more detail. “There are several types of Zen gardens, the most prominent being the dry rock type, called karesansui, literally meaning dry-mountain-and-water gardens. Gravel and rocks have been used to denote sacred areas of Japan since time immemorial, so I thought that’s what I’d use.” Alan’s raised beds have been filled with sand, fine gravel and larger rocks, which have been placed off centre in each bed and a few choice statues.

The only greenery to be seen are three small bamboo’s in pots, which help to break up the paths straight edges. “Water is often represented with sand or pebbles; mountains with stone; and islands with masses of moss or rock material” He says, “All I need to do is rake it every day.”.

“I spend at least an hour a day raking the garden.” Alan confesses. “As part of the Zen daily ritual, the sand and gravel is raked in the pattern of a flowing river.” “It’s very neat and tidy” I say, “You can tell you don’t have any pets”.
“Or children.” Alan agrees with a shudder which makes me glad I left my two at home.

I look around, soaking in the tranquillity.

“The power of the garden is its silence and ability to still the mind; it’s a very peaceful place to be, even if the neighbours cats use it as a loo sometimes.” Alan shrugs matter of factly.

HUMBLE SIMPLICITY
I am very much impressed with this little oasis. Alan gives me a little bit of background. “Zen rock gardens can express humble simplicity and the passage of time, Zen priests often used distant mountains and views as design elements in their tiny gardens, a principle called shakkei (borrowed scenery). Zen gardens can create the illusion of a long journey within a limited space. Each turn or bend of my little garden offers an opportunity to look at a special object or symbol. The idea of this is to keep the stroller’s mind on spiritual matters.” I suggest that he has found enlightenment. “Enlightenment is just another word for feeling comfortable being a completely ordinary person, which I do.” He says without thinking and continues. “Strolling in gardens goes back to India, where walking around a temple symbolised walking around the spiritual centre of the universe. India’s so-called “stroll gardens” were adapted by the Chinese, who decorated their gardens with symbols of the Buddhist universe, purifying the mind with each encounter.”

COST
I change the mood by talking about money. “I used very good materials” Alan answered, “so it cost me a few thousand euro to put together, the lighting alone cost the price of a holiday.” The lighting was so discreet that I hadn’t even noticed it was there. “The lights are disguised as stones and they highlight the statues.” He tells me and continues. “You could put something like this together for a few euro though if you were inventive with the materials. Go for what you like the look and feel of. You can make the garden any size too. I have totally filled my garden with the design; other people might just want to put aside a small area for contemplation and meditation or to just be a talking point. There’s really no limit, but remember that simplicity and tidiness are key factors; the design won’t work if there are a lot of weeds about.

PRESENT
“Here’s something for you.” Alan steers me back into the house “It’s your own mini Zen garden, the scale is smaller but the principles are the same.” Alan passes me a small bag and a rectangular pot container. “ You can play with this in your quieter moments. “ I have a peep in the bag; there are a few small stones, a larger piece of sandstone and some sand. “Change the design every day and make patterns that please you, there are no hard and fast rules.” I nod and thank him for the present.

Alan then gives me another good piece of advice before we sit on the two chairs in the front room to drink our herbal tea. “Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, the harvest you get can be either flowers or weeds.”