A Zen garden, also known as a rock garden, is a garden designed according to Zen Buddhist aesthetics intended to clear the mind and inspire meditation.
They originated in China and became highly popular in Japan beginning in the 16th century. Japanese Zen rock gardens are known as kare-sansui, which means “dry landscape” gardens.
Typical features of a Zen garden include raked white sand or gravel to symbolize water, asymmetrical placement of rocks or stones of different sizes and shapes, and minimal plantings usually consisting of moss or lichen.
The purpose is not to depict realistic landscapes but rather to represent different features like mountains, rivers, or islands in abstract, minimalist form. Correct placement and arrangement of the elements is important to achieve the desired aesthetic balance.
Walking in the garden and contemplating the artistic arrangement of features is meant to help the viewer still the mind, think about deeper philosophical concepts, and gain insight. It is a form of moving meditation.
Major examples of historic Zen gardens can be found at Zen temples in Japan like Ryōan-ji Temple in Kyoto, which has a very famous dry landscape garden.
The basic principles of Zen garden design focusing on simplicity, asymmetry, and mindfulness have influenced Western landscape architecture and garden design as well over the centuries.