Shunmyo masuno biography of mahatma

In discussions with the philosopher Koji Tanaka, he explained his perspective on the ethics of gardening, saying that gardening brings about a gentleness in the designer, builder, and caretakers. The garden teaches the suchness or intrinsic value of each thing, the connectedness, harmony, tranquility, and sacredness of the everyday. Developing a sense of respect for all things is no small step in becoming an ethical human being, both with respect to other humans and the environment at large.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. He has established Zen gardens in a variety of styles, traditional and contemporary, urban and rural, public and private, which includes temples, offices, hotels, campuses and venues. He always collaborates with local landscape designers and uses plants and rocks from the region where the garden will be built so he can create a garden that will remind people of their natural environment.

His most striking designs are his karesansui dry-landscape gardens , in which stones and gravel are used in place of water, which for example can be viewed on the roof of the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. Masuno believes that a garden must reflect the environment in which it is created. The old gardens were built to reflect a world in which people sat on tatami mats and lived in wood and paper houses.

Today, Japanese sit on chairs, surrounded by concrete and glass. From all points in the circular lobby with a sunken lounge, guests have a clear view of the narrow, steep garden, which should resemble crashing waves. No matter how much data you collect, no matter how much time or effort you put into thinking about it, predicting the future is hit or miss.

Shunmyo masuno biography of mahatma

All we can do is try our best to deal with problems when they actually occur. Everyone loses their temper at some point. Let me show you the best way I know to alleviate your anger in three seconds. Chant to yourself something along these lines, in a soothing tone:. I learned this from the late Koshu Itabashi, who was the abbot of a Soto Zen temple.

Even monks get angry, but we have to know how to pause and not give in to our temper. There is a zengo , or Zen saying, that encapsulates the need to live in the moment—to take action in the time and place where you find yourself. We are only capable of living now, in this moment. The self that existed a second ago is gone, and there is no guarantee that your current self will still exist a second from now.

Likewise, you can only be in the place where you are right now, and only this you can take the action that is at hand. When we do, we can greatly reduce the amount of time we spend regretting the past, worrying about the future, and brooding, doubting, or agonizing. Perhaps we have grown accustomed to constant contact with others, chatting with them as if they were by our sides.

He wrote, "There is nothing special in water and mountain, there is special only in the mind of people. Shunmyo's interpretation of this is that the spirit of seeking truth holds far more importance than the act of garden making. A second Zen priest Shunmyo often turns to for spiritual guidance is Ikkyu, a fifteenth century priest and scholar whose teachings had a great influence on many cultured men of the time.

One of these was Murata Jukoh who established the foundation for the Tea ceremony. Murata developed the heart of host to humbly receive guests as an expression of oneself in Zen. This strong emotional tie of Zen and Tea has survived through the centuries.