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Zen Challenge: the Unenterable Garden

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Zen Challenge: the Unenterable Garden w Introduction: Beauty, Negotiation Inner Space: The Nature Power and and The Courtyard of a Garden Terror Reflection Garden 10 20 80 210 The Way, Zen Death, the Body and Challenge: Tea and the the Mind The Garden 30 Unenterable 210 Garden Essays by : Expanded 100 The Tadao Ando Understanding Poetry of 10 60 Time, Space Plants Tan Twan Eng 10 and the Dry 210 Map of Japan 10 Garden Tatsuo Miyajima 110 120 Plants of Japan 10 Marcus du Sautoy 110 Glossary 10 John Pawson 210 Chronology of Architectural Anish Kapoor Periods 210 10 Lee Ufan Index 210 10 ↑ Tōin Teien (East Palace Garden) 4 5 Stepping into the Japanese garden is like entering a place of worship – of the garden path is rooted in performative religious practice, and like the a temple, a church or a cathedral – we are immediately immersed in the The Way, temple, the garden is an aid towards wholeheartedness. As the Zen saying context of the garden space. From the outset, the garden assumes an advocates: ‘Leave your self at the garden gate’, for in the garden the path influence on the way in which we behave. No object, no placement or action is designed to draw us towards self-illumination, towards the heart of is futile, because, in the spirit of the teaching of the Buddhist wheel of the the Body and contemplation, into the Garden Way. dharma, ‘One act, however small, includes all acts’. The Japanese garden- maker sets out to provide the visitor with the opportunity for a genuine the Mind Japanese culture embraces a multitude of ‘ways’. These dedicated, transformation in the way in which we exist in relation to the outside world. sustained life-practices are known as shugyo and they may involve the practice of an art or religious pursuit. They include the Buddha Way, the Unlike the expansive lawns of Western garden design on which we freely Buddhist Noble Path, the Middle Way, the Tao (‘way’ or ‘path’), Shinto (the play and picnic, the Japanese garden deliberately determines how we Path of the Gods), Chado (the Way of Tea), even Judo (the Gentle Way). With experience it, carefully directing the way in which we use and navigate its cultivation, these practices may prove transformative in their ability to space. While some gardens are designed to be viewed from a distance and enable a greater understanding. In Buddhist practice, it is the ‘way-seeking • Buddhapada or the Footprints of Buddha, usually depicting a forbid entry (see chapter XX), those that can be entered rely on the garden mind’ of zazen (seated meditation) that must be cultivated. The garden dharmachakra (Dharma Wheel) path (roji) to set down this experience. As the tune carries us through a too requires the mind of zazen – the garden is so closely connected to at the centre of the sole, carved limestone, XX century piece of music, the path leads us on a journey through the garden. At the the Japanese temple because it appeals to this very mind. The garden is temple of Jikkō-in in Kyoto, the stepping stone path over a water pool the first stage of meditation and the way in which we come to the garden incorporates an arrow that points the way. The clearly defined path of the matters: our method, our principle and our doctrine all make a difference. tea garden (itself called roji, see chapter 10) is similarly directive, while the By behaving in the right way with right mind, it is possible to participate in wider, meandering path of the ‘stroll’ garden (kaiyu-shiki-teien) – a type the Garden Way, to become uplifted above ordinary thoughts and to reach of garden which rose to prominence during the Edo Period (1600–1854) the Buddhist goal of ‘beyond mind’. – guides the visitor along a route that most commonly leads clockwise around a pond or a lake with such purpose that American architect Frank The rhythm of the Garden Way requires mindful abandon; it requires the Lloyd Wright referred to it as the ‘go-round style’ of garden. wholehearted mind of one who enters the deep forest with no thought of return. The garden path requires not simply our footsteps but an entire The path is the most powerful design device used by the garden-maker to way of being; ‘Do not follow in the footsteps of the ancients; seek what set out both a physical journey and a poetic way of seeing. We are expected they sought!’, declared the hermit monk and poet Matsuo Bashō. To walk in to follow the path without straying from it, for the path strictly determines the right way brings history and humility: be humble and you remain entire. what is revealed, and how, and when. Our journey [along the path] is It is through the practice of the dharma (‘The Way of the Awakened One’) punctuated by elements such as gateways, bridges, lanterns, fences and that the Buddha made it possible for others to share his Enlightened path: wash basins, which all serve to define specific moments of the garden ‘Do what I do, see what I am, and you in time will be what I am’. He taught • Yasuhiro Ishimoto experience. The Japanese garden is not passive but active and directive, that by following the dharma, all sentient being can achieve an awakening. Stepping-stones from the Imperial Carriage Stop to the even chronological, like the words of a poem set down in order – a carefully The Bodhisattva (Kannon) is the form of the latent, immanent Buddha – Gepparo, Katsura Imperial Villa, 1954, gelatine silver print, crafted means to gain a particular understanding. Assuming the role of the Buddha to-be, the Buddha potential – and it is worshipped with great 22 x 11 cm (8 11/16 x 11 1/16 in) choreographer, the Japanese garden-maker carefully guides us towards a reverence in Japan. By giving into the Garden Way of the Buddhist garden, particular understanding, which might be religious, poetic or literary. Our it is possible for each visitor to follow the path, both physically and whole- experience is gradually extended and built upon, meticulously paced to heartedly. reveal a passage that purposefully coincides with both space and time. Proximity between space and time is also present in traditional Japanese Along the path, the garden-maker playfully toys with different styles and theatre, called kabuki, in which the term michiyuki is used to describe a forms of paving to produce a path that is deliberately complicated to ‘journey scene’, translating as ‘road travel literature’. In the garden, too, we navigate, requiring the thoughtful guidance of the body. Amongst the many move through space and time on our own poetic garden journey. • Pilgrims circumambulating arrangements of paving stones are the straight-line formation (chokuuchi); the Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, the two-stone set (niren'uchi); the three-stone set (sanren'uchi); the seven- Varanasi, India On entering the Japanese garden, we might be required to replace our five-three pattern (shichi-go-san); the zig-zag patterns (shisankuzushi, shoes with garden slippers – a deed that must be tidily carried out with chidorigake) and the ‘flying geese’ (gan’uchi), or the ‘fallen-leaves’ respect for the surrounding space. This act serves to remind us to engage arrangement (konohauchi). Individually laid stepping stones may be ‘flying the body, to formally order ourselves; it is the first step in drawing the mind stones’, ‘skipping stones’ (tobi-ishi) or ‘guiding stones’ (nori-no-ishi). When and body together in preparation for entering the garden space, for the the path changes its form or becomes unsteady, we are forced to slow garden is a practice in a way of being. To walk carefully along the garden path and look down at our feet to establish the shape and size of the paving requires focus and attention; as the Zen saying reminds us, ‘Look where stones. At intervals the uneven path is punctuated by a large, smooth, flat, you’re going! Watch where you step!’ The path determines not simply that geometrical stone – broadly called a 'trump stone' or ‘special purpose we walk but how we walk; what matters is the mind with which we walk. stone’ (yaku-ishi) – which is used to provide the visitor with reassurance, to The garden path dictates a similar obeisance as that at Buddhist temples, allow us time to re-find our footing. Once steady, we have the opportunity to where pilgrims and monks bow in prayer and gratitude while walking look up and rediscover the garden before us in a view perfectly calculated clockwise around the stupa, a dome-shaped architecture that houses the by the garden-maker for our appreciation in this way. Drawing on our sacred relics of a saint or even of the Buddha himself. The intended effect active participation, the path guides us to be simultaneously attentive to The Way, the Body and the Mind 6 The Way, the Body and the Mind 7 ↑ Tenjuan 8 ↑ Tenjuan 9 → Kairaku-en (A Garden To Be Enjoyed Together) 偕楽園 Mito, Edo Period, 1841/42 Tokugawa Nariaki Kairaku-en, or ‘garden for everyone’s pleasure’, is one of Japan’s few gardens that was designed from its inception to be open to the public, rather than reserved for private use. Nationally designated as one of the ‘Three Great Gardens of Japan’, its visionary creator, Tokugawa Nariaki (lord of Mito domain), later played a significant role in the overthrow of Japan’s shogunate and the country’s subsequent move towards modernity. His grand ambition and magnanimity is reflected in Kairaku-en.
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