These photos taken at the Daikin Japanese Garden just North of the Morgan County Courthouse in Decatur show just one type of Japanese faith garden. Some tea ceremonies during the medieval period in Japan were a method of getting caffeine into Zen monks in order to reduce sleepiness during meditation. |
The Path to a
Tranquil Ancient Japanese Garden
By Jerry A. Chenault
For
this month’s discussion, I’d like to lead you down a quiet path into
sacred space. It’s an ancient path, highly symbolic and definitely
peaceful…quite tranquil and different is this path found almost a
world away from our "Sweet Home Alabama." Won’t you join me
to venture down this trail into an ancient Japanese tea garden?
A
Japanese tea garden is just one type of faith garden as can be found in
the "Land of the Rising Sun." Classified sometimes as Shinto,
Zen or other types of faith gardens, these same gardens are also often
categorized as Tsukiyama Gardens (hill gardens), Karesansui Gardens (dry
gardens) or Chaniwa Gardens (tea gardens). Our path today is into a
Chaniwa Teahouse Garden. Come on along.
Chaniwa
Gardens are actually built for the Tea Ceremony. They come right out of
the medieval |
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of Japan (first appearing around the 15th century) when the Tea Ceremony
was first observed. Its primary purpose was as a method of getting
caffeine into Zen monks in order to reduce sleepiness during meditation.
The tea leaves were ground down, hot water was poured over them and then
it was all whipped into a frothy, bitter concoction. Yuck! But it
helped! |
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The
tea garden is surely a different type of garden than the Tsukiyama
(which contains ponds, streams, hills, stones, trees, flowers, bridges
and paths to create a ‘natural setting’); however, the long journey
between the outer garden gate (over a small space) does evoke feelings
of entering a new and different world. And that is definitely a good
thing in a faith garden.
The
teahouse garden journey, also called the roji (the dewey path), often
has a circular path. It begins with the closing of the roofed outer gate
that separates the garden from the world, and it ends at the simple,
thatched-roof hermit-type hut. The passage in between is one of
purification and reflection. The materials of the garden are simple and
clean, and they’re rustic – the more rustic the better. Two
qualities pervade the garden – wabi and sabi. Wabi is solitude among
nature and sabi is an atmosphere of age. The tea garden always has both,
as well as a seclusion from everywhere else – it is hidden … and its
circular path is intended as a psychological cleansing and as a way to
escape the cares of the world outside. Not a bad idea, huh? The typical
tea garden also has a middle gate (the chumon) halfway to the teahouse.
This, too, is part of preparing the guest’s minds. All the gates are. |
A water basin in a hollowed stone, called a tsukabai, was used for ritual cleansing of the hands and the mouth and was often fed by crystal clear cold water. |
Stone lanterns light the path to the teahouse. The materials of the garden are simple and clean. |
Stone
lanterns light the path to the teahouse, and they peacefully mark the
meditative trails as do the plants and trees (as well as the moss, ferns
and lichens). Flowers will not be found along this simple path, but a
water basin (perhaps made of a hollowed stone) called a tsukabai, will
be. It is for ritual cleansing of the hands and the mouth, and it is
often fed by crystal clear cold water coming from a bamboo pipe. There
are also benches along the way that are intended to slow the visitor
down for quiet, calming contemplation. Here the guests can commune with
nature and enjoy the chirping of crickets, the sounds of birds, the wind
rustling in the leaves, etc. The trees and shrubs are primarily
evergreen and coniferous (and some broadleaf); but a display of ornate
flowers or stones will not be found here.
There
is yet a third gate in the inner garden, the uchiroji. After it, the
guests must humble themselves (bending down) to enter the teahouse
(after taking off their shoes). Inside they will sit on tatami mats and
sip their tea quietly in the ancient ceremony with the host.
So
what can we learn from this type of faith garden? Perhaps a lesson that
we can incorporate into our own private gardens that might take us out
of the hustle and bustle of our busy world —- at least for a little
while. Today’s world is a loud place, and these gardens show us one
way of getting back to part of our needed natural roots and our purpose.
Enjoy!
Jerry
A. Chenault is with the Urban R.E.A., New & Nontraditional Programs. |
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