Kyoto: Zen Garden, Zen Mind (Private)

The Zen Garden / Zen Mind afternoon we spent with Andrew was probably one of the best tours we’ve had in our 40+ years of travel. As other reviews have noted, his deep knowledge and passion for Zen philosophy and traditional gardens and the understated way he shared it was enlightening. He increased our understanding of the outward beauty of the garden to their spiritual and meditative meanings. At the end of the tour, I was basically in awe of the genius in design and the skill in execution of the garden’s builders. I also carried away a different understanding of Zen meditation and have a renewed self-desire to slow down, observe, and truly embrace each day. So, how did Andrew do this all of this in an afternoon tour? I offer two examples. The first example was near the beginning. I found his response to a simple question I asked a masterclass in in tying the garden’s design and plants to the underlying meditation and spiritualism meanings. As we entered one garden, the trees had no leaves and overall there was not a lot of color as the various blossoms had faded. I wondered what it would look like 6-months later. Andrew didn’t reply directly and instead said that many people think of there being 4 seasons in a year but that In Japanese poetry and spiritualism there are 72 seasons of about 5 days each. He continued “Consider if you were to sit here each day and really watch the garden, to enjoy and to appreciate what it is on that day. It has its own life as it is. You’d notice how it slowly changed from the last 4-7 days. Something is always changing. In winter the water might be almost frozen over and the trees are bare. A week later it is a bit warmer. Mists start to develop and linger. Soon, there is more insect movement. The plum tree blossoms start to open. Birds start nesting. As the plum blossoms fall in 1-2 weeks the peach trees start to blossom and as they fade the cherry trees start, and so on through the year. Some things die by the winter and others live on but they are different than they were. And the cycle repeats”. He then tied the 72-seasons concept to Zen spiritual teachings: “Things always change and nothing is permanent. Be mindful and appreciate what you have today.” He finished saying that the garden’s designers tried to incorporate elements that would highlight each of the 72 seasons and encourage meditation. The other example was when he pointed to an area with some raked-gravel and a mound with 3 upright rocks in front on the other side of the gravel. Then, he painted a mental picture asking us to imagine being on an ocean and seeing a mountain in the distance with 3 figures at the shore. One was Budda, one was a goddess, and one was a child. He continued to tie the garden to the mental image. The gravel and lines were the ocean, the 3 upright rocks were the 3 figures, and the mound in back was the mountain. Lastly, he tied the design to Zen meditation and teaching where the Budda stone represented wisdom tranquility and enlightenment to remind us to cultivate inner peace and mindfulness; the Goddess stone (Kwannon) symbolized compassion, mercy, and feminism energy to remind us of selfless love and the interconnectedness of all beings and , the child’s stone (Seishi) represented youthful energy, innocence and potential to reignite a sense of childish wonder and openness. These are two examples. Do this tour. You won’t regret it.

Focused on traditions behind Japanese gardens; also basics about Shinto and Buddhist traditions and practices. Andrew was excellent, highly knowledgeable with a Master’s in landscape architecture and a personal interest in the philosophy and spiritual elements behind them

This tour with Andrew was the highlight of our tours in both Tokyo and Kyoto! He took us to places that were unique with less tourist traffic and we learned so much about Zen Buddhism and garden design that we would have never known. Highly highly recommend adding to your itinerary in Kyoto as it added so much to our experience and perspective!