Through Zen philosophy, we can experience the large in the small. And in a grain of sand, we may glimpse the meaning of the world.

For centuries, Japanese Zen masters have cultivated gardens of harmoniously arranged rocks and white raked gravel, creating silent havens for peaceful contemplation. In this book you will learn about these Zen gardens and experience their universal, yet intensely personal, perspective.

By cultivating a miniature Zen garden-reducing, for a moment, the day's complexity to a few waves of sand against the rocks-one may come away feeling as if the rest of life has become simpler. This inner contemplation and calm can lead to a fresh view, and to clear and skillful action in the world.

Follow the path of the Zen rock garden. Learn to open your eyes and mind, and experience a new way of seeing.

Poet and writer Abd al-Hayy Moore studied Zen Buddhism with Suzuki Roshi in San Francisco. Two of his books of poetry were published under the name Daniel Moore by Lawrence Ferlingheti's City Lights Books, and he has presented programs about the poetry and aesthetics of gardens for the Santa Barbaa Botanic Garden. He currently lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two children.

Contents

Opening the gate
Gardens of the mind
A different garden
Gardens of paradise
Taoism: A name for what cannot be named
Rocks in transit
Warriors and monkas
Father of the rock garden
Brush-strokes and rock patterns
Rocks and sand
Rocks of many faces
The garden of Ryoan-ji
This garden
Other gardens