Ryoanji

The famous Ryoanji rock garden is a sublime masterpiece that was created around 1500 by the Zen monk Tokuho Zenketsu. It measures 25x10 meters and features 15 rocks and white gravel. The rocks symbolize islands in the sea, or mountains above the mist.

 

When you sit alongside the garden, there’s no point from which you can see all 15 rocks completely, thus reminding us that our perception is incomplete.

 

When I see Ryoanji, it makes me think of the third verse of “Abendlied” by Matthias Claudius:

 

Seht ihr den Mond dort stehen?

Er ist nur halb zu sehen,

Und ist doch rund und schön!

So sind wohl manche Sachen,

Die wir getrost belachen,

Weil unsre Augen sie nicht sehn.

 

Do you see the moon there?

It is only half visible,

Yet it is round and beautiful!

There probably are some things

We laugh and sneer at;

Because our eyes can not see them.

 

Voyez-vous la lune?

Elle est seulement à moitié visible,

Mais elle est ronde et belle!

Donc il y a probablement des choses

Nous ridiculons;

Parce que nos yeux ne peuvent pas les voir.

 

Btw: after 10 a. m. this temple is terribly crowded. If you want to enjoy it in serenity, get up early. The early bird catches the worm :-)

Done