Further information and eBooks on Buddha and Buddhist garden design - not every Buddhist garden is a Zen garden for meditation: http://www.gardenvisit.com/history_theory/garden_landscape_design_articles/sacred_gardens/buddhist_gardens_vihara Buddhism may be the religion which has has the most significant influence on garden design. The Buddha was born in a garden, at Lumbini, and raised in a garden, at Kapilavastu. He then taught in gardens, lived in gardens and died in a garden. Do beliefs and religions influence garden design?. Yes. Then which has been the most influential? Christianity? I don't think so. With the exception of cloisters, European gardens lack Christian symbols. Islam? Possibly, but the Charbagh idea, of crossing canals, is much older than Islam and there are surprisingly few old gardens in the Islamic counties. Hinduism? There is too little evidence to make a judgement. Buddhism? In my view, yes. A Buddhist will say 'I take refuge in the Buddha, in the Dharma.' and in the Sangha. These are the 3 Jewels of Buddhism and each has a connection with gardens The First Jewel is the Buddha. He was born in a garden at Lumbini, where his mother was resting on a journey to her father's home. The event is described as follows : 'At the time of the full moon, the queen entered the pond and bathed. On leaving the pond, she lifted her hand, held the branch of a tree, and gave birth. The infant immediately walked seven paces, with a lotus flower appearing at each pace'. The pond survives, now set in a ludicrous Baroque design by the brilliant Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. After her son's birth, Queen Maya returned to her husband's palace. He was King of the Shakyas. His palace is believed to have been in what is now the village of Tilaurakot, in the district of Kapilavastu, in Nepal. The family was Hindu and belonged to the warrior caste: the Kshatriyas. They could be kings but they could not be priests. That privilege belonging to the Brahmin caste. The young prince lived a life of pleasure and luxury in his father's garden palace until the day when he visited the country outside the garden. There he saw: old age, sickness and death. The suffering of the common people preyed on his mind and some years later he decided to leave home and to become a wandering ascetic -- like the rishis in ancient India and the sadhus in modern India. After six years of wandering, and near starvation, he settled down in the shade, of a Ficus religiosa, and meditated. Though tempted by a demon and by beautiful girls, he became enlightened and the tree became famous as the Bohdi tree. The place is now called Bodh Gaya, with Bohd meaning 'enlightened', and the prince became the Enlightened One: THE BUDDHA. The Buddha's first teaching was in the shade of a tree in the Isi pat Ana. It was, and is, a deer park outside the sacred city of Varanassi. called the Dhamma Chakra Pavattana, this teaching 'set the wheel in motion'. It rolls to liberate individuals from suffering. This idea attracted followers. They became monks and travelled from place to place, teaching the Four Noble Truths. These are: the truth of suffering, the truth of why we suffer, from too many wants the truth of overcoming suffering and the truth of the Noble Eightfold Path to Nirvana. It is a path which requires ethical conduct, wise behaviour, and mental discipline. These qualities let you escape from dukkha. Dukkha is usually translated as 'suffering', but can also mean 'stress', 'anxiety' or 'discontent' -- which dog the modern world -- as much they did the ancient world. When it became almost impossible for monks to travel, during the monsoon season, Vassa, the Buddha and his disciples often lived in parks and gardens. Nineteen of the Buddha's summers were spent in a park called the Jetavana. When some admirers wanted to buy this park, for the Buddha, Mr Jeta, who owned it, told them to 'cover the whole place with money'. Anatha pindika did this using gold coins. So the Jetavana became a monastery. It stands on a low hill, in a wet plain, and has a water tank (a baoli) in a corner of the site. One of the Jataka stories records that in a waterless year, the Buddha announced he would bathe. He sat down on the edge of the empty water tank -- and waited. The rains came, as a miracle, and saved the lives of the fish in the pond and the people in the nearby town, Shravasti. Finally, at the age of 80, having being born in a garden and raised in a garden, having preached in gardens and slept in gardens, the Buddha also died in a garden at Kushinagar. He then attained Nirvana. Arthur Basham wrote, in The Wonder That was India, that the Buddha was 'certainly the greatest man to have been born in India'. That's a large group. Note that Zen gardens in Japan tend not to have a Buddha statue or ornaments

• published: 11 May 2013
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