Latest / Abide Meditation App / Garden Bedtime Story _ The Zen Garden _ Get Sleepy Story
Transcript
- 0:02Speaker 1: Welcome to Get Sleepy, the podcast where we listen, we relax,
- 0:10Speaker 1: and we get sleepy. My name is Thomas and I'm
- 0:16Speaker 1: your host. Thank you for tuning in. Tonight we'll enjoy
- 0:23Speaker 1: a tranquil tour of a Japanese Zen garden with the
- 0:27Speaker 1: guidance of a monk. we'll relax among flowering plants and
- 0:33Speaker 1: trickling fountains, peacefully observing the serene settings. Most of us
- 0:41Speaker 1: have heard of Zen. It's a school of Buddhism that
- 0:45Speaker 1: originated in India, developed in China, and then spread throughout Asia.
- 0:53Speaker 1: But regardless of our beliefs or backgrounds, It's the elegant
- 0:58Speaker 1: simplicity of a Zen garden that we will focus on
- 1:01Speaker 1: tonight and the relaxation that it induces. I appreciate that
- 1:12Speaker 1: you're here to relax and fall asleep. So let's unwind
- 1:19Speaker 1: and do just that. Take a deep breath in Holding
- 1:31Speaker 1: for a moment. And then release. As the breath flows out,
- 1:44Speaker 1: so too can any lasting energy that has carried over
- 1:49Speaker 1: from the day. It's time to put things down and
- 1:57Speaker 1: switch off. Breathe in deeply. Hold and release. However you
- 2:16Speaker 1: feel at this moment, just know that you are in
- 2:21Speaker 1: the right place to get a well-deserved rest. It can
- 2:29Speaker 1: be easy to feel a sense of anxiety or frustration
- 2:35Speaker 1: if it takes a little while for us to switch
- 2:37Speaker 1: off the mind and to make our way towards sleep
- 2:44Speaker 1: but just remember that you are able to rest your
- 2:48Speaker 1: body and calm your thinking even before you've nodded off
- 2:54Speaker 1: to dreamland so without any pressure Continue with some slow,
- 3:06Speaker 1: soothing breaths and you can simply follow the sound of
- 3:12Speaker 1: my voice as you gradually make your way to sleep.
- 3:23Speaker 1: Allow your mind to drift to a quiet, peaceful place
- 3:30Speaker 1: nestled somewhere in the forests of Japan. This is where
- 3:39Speaker 1: our story begins. The roof of the temple curves upwards
- 4:12Speaker 1: like a smile. The walls are white, while the columns
- 4:19Speaker 1: and roof are a rich, glossy brown. It's a sunny
- 4:27Speaker 1: spring morning and the leaves of the trees flutter in
- 4:32Speaker 1: the slight breeze. With no one else around, It's the
- 4:40Speaker 1: perfect picture of serenity. You are the only visitor. To
- 4:50Speaker 1: set foot inside the gardens of this historic temple, you
- 4:56Speaker 1: first need a special letter of permission. There are no
- 5:02Speaker 1: crowds and no tourists. Only you. waiting to be met
- 5:11Speaker 1: by your guide. The young man who comes to greet
- 5:18Speaker 1: you is a monk. His head is shaved and he
- 5:24Speaker 1: wears a long black robe. He introduces himself as Yuto
- 5:33Speaker 1: and says that he is one of the many Zen
- 5:36Speaker 1: Buddhist monks who live at the nearby monastery. The temple's
- 5:44Speaker 1: restricted access and remote location mean that they don't get
- 5:49Speaker 1: many visitors. Today, he will show you around the famous
- 5:57Speaker 1: Zen garden and share a little about his life. First,
- 6:07Speaker 1: you walk together around the temple walls. His pace is slow,
- 6:15Speaker 1: but deliberate, and he seems to be paying careful attention
- 6:22Speaker 1: to every moment. Normally, you would walk more quickly, but
- 6:30Speaker 1: Yuto's relaxed pace encourages you to slow down too. There's
- 6:38Speaker 1: no reason to hurry here. There's no plan or timetable.
- 6:47Speaker 1: It's refreshing to be able to forget about time for
- 6:51Speaker 1: a while and to simply enjoy the experience, living in
- 6:58Speaker 1: the moment. You stroll down a tree-lined path, side by side,
- 7:09Speaker 1: and Yuto begins to tell you about his life as
- 7:12Speaker 1: a monk. His words are as slow and measured as
- 7:19Speaker 1: his steps, and he has a low, calming voice. Life
- 7:28Speaker 1: in the monastery follows a strict routine. The monks wake
- 7:34Speaker 1: up early, before dawn, and gather in the temple to meditate.
- 7:42Speaker 1: Then they eat breakfast together in silence, mindful of each
- 7:48Speaker 1: other's company, but focused on the act of eating. The
- 7:56Speaker 1: rest of the day is spent meditating, studying, or carrying
- 8:02Speaker 1: out various duties in the monastery and temple, such as
- 8:08Speaker 1: cooking and cleaning. For example, Yuto spent this morning sweeping
- 8:16Speaker 1: and mopping the floors, a job he finds relaxing and satisfying.
- 8:26Speaker 1: Yuto explains that when you are in the right state
- 8:30Speaker 1: of mind, you can find pleasure in everything. A life
- 8:37Speaker 1: of early mornings, long meditation sittings, and hours of domestic
- 8:44Speaker 1: work may not seem enjoyable at first, but a mindful
- 8:50Speaker 1: attitude makes all the difference. No matter who you are,
- 9:00Speaker 1: or what you believe, Yuto says, you can benefit from
- 9:05Speaker 1: the Zen mindset. Appreciate the simple things in life and
- 9:12Speaker 1: devote your full attention to whatever you are doing in
- 9:16Speaker 1: that moment. As one proverb says, when walking, walk. When eating, eat.
- 9:32Speaker 1: You stand together in silence and look at the landscape.
- 9:39Speaker 1: Taking a deep breath, you focus your attention on the
- 9:44Speaker 1: small pond in front of you, noticing how the surface
- 9:50Speaker 1: ripples slightly in the breeze. You can see the reflection
- 9:55Speaker 1: of the trees mirrored in the water. Looking up, you
- 10:01Speaker 1: notice the elegant curves of the branches and the vibrant
- 10:06Speaker 1: green of the leaves. It's as if you had never
- 10:14Speaker 1: truly taken the time to really look until this moment.
- 10:24Speaker 1: You continue to admire the scene, your gaze drifting down
- 10:30Speaker 1: to the pond, then back up to the branches. The
- 10:37Speaker 1: longer you look, the more relaxed you feel. You can
- 10:44Speaker 1: feel your breaths becoming slower, and with each breath, a
- 10:51Speaker 1: deepening sense of peace and well-being. Eventually, you turn to
- 11:02Speaker 1: look at Yuto, who is still standing beside you. His
- 11:08Speaker 1: gaze remains fixed on the trees in front of him.
- 11:14Speaker 1: He must have walked past these same trees hundreds or
- 11:18Speaker 1: even thousands of times. They must be so familiar, so unremarkable.
- 11:28Speaker 1: And yet, he's still happy to stand here, looking, enjoying
- 11:36Speaker 1: the peace of the moment. At last, Yuto turns away
- 11:46Speaker 1: and begins to walk on, You follow him through the
- 11:51Speaker 1: temple gardens, past trees of every kind, pines, magnolias, and
- 12:02Speaker 1: even a few cherry blossom trees. You're impressed by the
- 12:09Speaker 1: beauty of the cherry blossoms and the delicate pink petals
- 12:14Speaker 1: that drift to the ground in a slow shower. But
- 12:21Speaker 1: Yuto's lesson in mindfulness has helped you to appreciate the
- 12:26Speaker 1: more ordinary trees too, noticing the patterns on the trunks
- 12:33Speaker 1: or the shapes of certain branches. Before, you might have
- 12:40Speaker 1: only looked at the cherry blossoms, but now you can
- 12:45Speaker 1: see the beauty in everything. The gardens around the temple
- 12:54Speaker 1: are clearly well looked after. The flowerbeds are neat and tidy,
- 13:02Speaker 1: and all the plants and trees seem to be thriving.
- 13:08Speaker 1: But this groomed, cultivated landscape seems wild when compared to
- 13:15Speaker 1: the Zen garden. It is this special garden that you've
- 13:23Speaker 1: come here to see. You've heard of these remarkable, ordered
- 13:29Speaker 1: gardens at Zen Buddhist temples. They are not ordinary green spaces,
- 13:38Speaker 1: but rather carefully arranged rectangles of sand or gravel, decorated
- 13:46Speaker 1: with rocks and small plants. The first Zen gardens were
- 13:55Speaker 1: built in the temples of Kyoto in the 14th century.
- 14:01Speaker 1: They were designed to create a space for meditation, representing
- 14:07Speaker 1: the essence of nature. An area of raked sand might
- 14:14Speaker 1: represent the sea, with a rock as an island and
- 14:20Speaker 1: a hill as a temple. or the sand might be
- 14:26Speaker 1: swirling clouds, with the rocks as mountaintops rising into the
- 14:33Speaker 1: clear air. Each garden is unique, and you're curious to
- 14:42Speaker 1: see this particular design, and to learn more of its symbolism.
- 14:50Speaker 1: Yuto is guiding you there now, around the back of
- 14:55Speaker 1: the temple and along a narrow gravel path that slopes
- 15:00Speaker 1: down the hill. Yuto takes you to a stone bench
- 15:08Speaker 1: halfway down the slope and gestures for you to sit down.
- 15:15Speaker 1: He explains that it's not necessary to enter the Zen
- 15:19Speaker 1: garden to appreciate it, In fact, gardens like this were
- 15:26Speaker 1: designed to be viewed from a single position. It's a
- 15:32Speaker 1: little like gazing at a painting or a sculpture in
- 15:35Speaker 1: a gallery. The viewpoint from this bench will allow you
- 15:41Speaker 1: to appreciate the garden to the fullest, experiencing it as
- 15:47Speaker 1: its creators intended. The garden is a large rectangular space
- 15:58Speaker 1: surrounded by a low wall. It mostly consists of gravel
- 16:04Speaker 1: and sand, some grey, some white, but there are also
- 16:12Speaker 1: various small plants, rocks and even a miniature waterfall. A
- 16:20Speaker 1: monk is slowly raking the gravel in a curved pattern
- 16:27Speaker 1: Yuto explains that raking a Zen garden is a meticulous,
- 16:33Speaker 1: mindful task. It's an art that requires special attention. The
- 16:41Speaker 1: gardener must choose the right kind of rake and the
- 16:45Speaker 1: appropriate movements to create the shape he desires. The pattern
- 16:53Speaker 1: of a wave, a ripple, a stream, or a drop
- 16:59Speaker 1: of water. While they may sound similar, each one is
- 17:06Speaker 1: a distinct design. These gravel patterns are particularly striking late
- 17:16Speaker 1: in the afternoon, when the long shadows highlight every edge
- 17:22Speaker 1: and ripple. This effect is also an important reminder of change.
- 17:32Speaker 1: While the garden may seem static, it's never exactly the same.
- 17:39Speaker 1: The sun shifts, the water flows, and time passes. As
- 17:50Speaker 1: you gaze at the garden, you look for these subtle
- 17:54Speaker 1: changes and transitions. The monk with the rake reaches the
- 18:02Speaker 1: wall and then carefully steps to the side to avoid
- 18:08Speaker 1: trampling his work. You notice that he's wearing special soft shoes,
- 18:17Speaker 1: which are less likely to leave footprints in the gravel.
- 18:22Speaker 1: Yuto says that walking through the rate gravel of a
- 18:26Speaker 1: Zen garden is a little like levitating or walking on water.
- 18:34Speaker 1: Every movement is made with the utmost care. The patterns
- 18:43Speaker 1: that the monk is creating in the sand represent water.
- 18:49Speaker 1: In fact, Every carefully arranged feature of the Zen garden
- 18:54Speaker 1: has a kind of symbolism, but the exact nature of
- 18:59Speaker 1: this symbolism is open to interpretation. For example, one famous
- 19:08Speaker 1: Zen garden in Kyoto is so abstract that it has
- 19:14Speaker 1: attracted countless readings over the years. Some see a tiger
- 19:20Speaker 1: with her cubs. Others see mountaintops emerging through the clouds,
- 19:29Speaker 1: while others see islands in a stream. According to one study,
- 19:37Speaker 1: the reason for the garden's calming effect may be subliminal.
- 19:44Speaker 1: When viewed from a certain vantage point, symmetrical lines create
- 19:50Speaker 1: the shape of a tree. The trunk takes the form
- 19:55Speaker 1: of an invisible line stretching out in front of the viewer,
- 20:01Speaker 1: while the branches are the spaces between small groups of rocks.
- 20:10Speaker 1: People find beauty in the image without their conscious minds
- 20:15Speaker 1: even realizing what they're seeing. Perhaps the gardener who created
- 20:21Speaker 1: this design 500 years ago did so unconsciously, moved by
- 20:28Speaker 1: the mysterious impulses deep within him. As for the garden
- 20:37Speaker 1: you are visiting now, Yuto has his own explanation. The small,
- 20:45Speaker 1: moss-covered hill, which is topped by a graceful juniper tree,
- 20:51Speaker 1: represents the legendary mountain of the immortals. The waterfall that
- 20:59Speaker 1: flows down the side is a symbol of human vitality.
- 21:06Speaker 1: This waterfall then flows into the white sand, which represents
- 21:12Speaker 1: the stream of life. As the circles of sand expand
- 21:19Speaker 1: outwards into the gravel sea, all that is left is
- 21:25Speaker 1: the expanse of time and existence. Seen in this way,
- 21:36Speaker 1: The garden is a kind of allegory for the journey
- 21:39Speaker 1: of life. But Yuto says that it's important to find
- 21:46Speaker 1: your own meaning, rather than relying on another's interpretation. He
- 21:54Speaker 1: suggests you spend some time here alone, forming your own
- 21:58Speaker 1: relationship with the Zen garden's shapes, patterns, and symbols. when
- 22:07Speaker 1: you're ready you can come to find him in the
- 22:11Speaker 1: temple gardens but you should take your time there's no
- 22:19Speaker 1: rush Yuto walks away leaving you alone on the bench
- 22:31Speaker 1: you're not entirely alone of course you can see the
- 22:36Speaker 1: monk in the garden still raking the gravel. But from
- 22:42Speaker 1: where you're sitting, you're too far to talk to or
- 22:47Speaker 1: interact with him. You're happy just to watch, and you
- 22:54Speaker 1: wouldn't want to interrupt him. He seems so focused on
- 22:59Speaker 1: his work, completely absorbed by the repetitive yet calming motions
- 23:07Speaker 1: of the rake grazing the surface of the gravel. If
- 23:13Speaker 1: you listen carefully, you can even hear the soft sound
- 23:19Speaker 1: of the stones shifting, rising, and falling as they create
- 23:27Speaker 1: new lines and ripples. You hadn't noticed this sound before,
- 23:37Speaker 1: But the longer you spend in front of the garden,
- 23:41Speaker 1: the more you become aware of. Other sounds and sensations
- 23:48Speaker 1: gradually filter into your consciousness, like the gentle trickle of
- 23:55Speaker 1: the waterfall and the melody of the birdsong from nearby trees.
- 24:05Speaker 1: You notice how the colors of the garden change as
- 24:09Speaker 1: the clouds pass overhead, hiding and then revealing the sun.
- 24:20Speaker 1: Sometimes you focus on one detail at a time. You
- 24:27Speaker 1: allow your gaze to drift slowly from left to right,
- 24:33Speaker 1: watching the shrub, the hill, the waterfall, the rock, and
- 24:41Speaker 1: finally the monk. Then you look back in the opposite direction,
- 24:50Speaker 1: right to left. The monk, the rock, the waterfall, the hill,
- 25:02Speaker 1: and the shrub. The only movements are the flowing water
- 25:10Speaker 1: and the monk gently dragging the rake through the gravel.
- 25:17Speaker 1: And yet, somehow, it seems different every time. It's subtle,
- 25:28Speaker 1: almost imperceptible, but different. there are other moments when you
- 25:40Speaker 1: try to draw your gaze outwards to see the garden
- 25:44Speaker 1: as an assembled whole rather than individual parts. In some
- 25:52Speaker 1: forms of Zen meditation, the aim of the practice is
- 25:57Speaker 1: to be aware of the totality. Instead of focusing on
- 26:04Speaker 1: a single object, the practitioner seeks conscious awareness of the
- 26:10Speaker 1: whole without attachment, judgment, or interpretation. In this moment, you
- 26:23Speaker 1: are looking, not meditating. But the simple act of looking
- 26:30Speaker 1: is becoming more meaningful and more relaxing. As you remain
- 26:38Speaker 1: aware of the garden as a whole, gazing at the
- 26:42Speaker 1: scene as you would a painting, you feel a deep
- 26:47Speaker 1: sense of calm. You breathe in deeply and watch as
- 26:55Speaker 1: the monk continues his slow, careful passage through the garden.
- 27:04Speaker 1: If you stay and watch until sunset Perhaps he will
- 27:10Speaker 1: still be here, creating endless beautiful patterns between the rocks
- 27:18Speaker 1: and hills. After a while, the low walls of the
- 27:27Speaker 1: garden seem to fade. You're no longer aware of any
- 27:33Speaker 1: boundary between the neat, ordered garden and the wilder nature
- 27:40Speaker 1: that surrounds it. You start to feel as though you
- 27:46Speaker 1: might be part of the garden yourself, somehow inside it,
- 27:53Speaker 1: rather than watching from a distance. Everything is touching, connected
- 28:01Speaker 1: by merging lines and graceful patterns, whether natural or man-made.
- 28:12Speaker 1: On reflection, this is what makes the garden so beautiful.
- 28:20Speaker 1: The exact symbolism of individual aspects seems less important than
- 28:27Speaker 1: the unified whole and the sense of peace and happiness
- 28:33Speaker 1: it gives you. Spending a long time in ordinary, untamed
- 28:41Speaker 1: nature might have the same effect with a little patience.
- 28:49Speaker 1: But the neat artistry of the Zen garden helps the
- 28:53Speaker 1: visitor to achieve this realization more easily. As you gaze
- 29:01Speaker 1: at the garden, your mind calms and clears, and you
- 29:08Speaker 1: gradually sink into a deeper awareness of the world that
- 29:14Speaker 1: surrounds you. If you stay here longer, you might continue
- 29:23Speaker 1: to notice new details, but you also feel ready to
- 29:30Speaker 1: move on and see what else Yuto might show you.
- 29:39Speaker 1: It doesn't take you long to find him. After just
- 29:44Speaker 1: a few minutes of strolling through the temple gardens, you
- 29:49Speaker 1: see Yuto sitting on a bench beneath the shade of
- 29:53Speaker 1: the trees. He's sitting so still with such a calm
- 30:00Speaker 1: expression that at first you think he might be meditating.
- 30:08Speaker 1: But he greets you at once and asks about your
- 30:12Speaker 1: experience in the Zen garden. You walk on together, discussing
- 30:21Speaker 1: the garden and other aspects of the temple. Whenever you
- 30:28Speaker 1: ask a question, he pauses for a moment before answering.
- 30:36Speaker 1: He does this every time, even though he must have
- 30:40Speaker 1: the answer on the tip of his tongue. It's so
- 30:46Speaker 1: different from the rapid pace of conversations that you're used to.
- 30:53Speaker 1: Perhaps he wants to give your question the respectful contemplation
- 30:58Speaker 1: he feels it deserves. Or it may be that he
- 31:03Speaker 1: does everything slowly, recognizing that there's rarely any need to rush.
- 31:16Speaker 1: Now he's taking you to another part of the temple complex,
- 31:22Speaker 1: to a small building surrounded by trees. It's a simple,
- 31:29Speaker 1: one-story building with cream-colored walls and translucent windows. This, Yuto explains,
- 31:42Speaker 1: is the tea house. There is a long history of
- 31:49Speaker 1: tea ceremonies in Zen Buddhism. It began in the 12th century,
- 31:57Speaker 1: when a Japanese monk traveled to China and returned to
- 32:02Speaker 1: his homeland with matcha tea and a special technique for
- 32:08Speaker 1: preparing it. Since then, it has been an important ritual
- 32:14Speaker 1: for many people in Japan, a treasured part of the culture.
- 32:23Speaker 1: Tea houses are not necessarily connected to Zen Buddhism, as
- 32:29Speaker 1: many of them were built by samurai and merchants, not
- 32:34Speaker 1: only monks. But you can see the Zen influence in
- 32:40Speaker 1: the simplicity of the architecture, which is inspired by nature. And,
- 32:49Speaker 1: as you will soon discover, the ceremony itself seems to
- 32:54Speaker 1: represent the essence of Zen. You walk up the stone
- 33:03Speaker 1: path to the tea house and take off your shoes
- 33:08Speaker 1: at the door. As you enter, you are struck by
- 33:14Speaker 1: the beautiful minimalism of the buildings. It's a single room
- 33:21Speaker 1: with no furniture and only one decoration, a scroll painting
- 33:28Speaker 1: of a mountain. Yuto invites you to sit on the
- 33:35Speaker 1: floor while he prepares the tea. Before he begins the ritual,
- 33:43Speaker 1: he explains that this is a moment he savors every
- 33:48Speaker 1: single time It's a ritual of gratitude, not just for
- 33:55Speaker 1: the tea itself, but for the whole experience. He feels
- 34:02Speaker 1: grateful for your company, too. After washing your hands in
- 34:12Speaker 1: a small stone basin, you kneel on the floor and
- 34:18Speaker 1: watch him prepare the tea in silence. First, he brings
- 34:24Speaker 1: out the tools, a little white bowl, a whisk and
- 34:30Speaker 1: a tea scoop made of bamboo, a white linen cloth,
- 34:37Speaker 1: and a container of hot water. Then he cleans the
- 34:43Speaker 1: utensils thoroughly with the same careful attention of the monk
- 34:50Speaker 1: raking the garden. once everything is clean it's time to
- 34:58Speaker 1: make the tea he mixes the bright green matcha powder
- 35:05Speaker 1: with hot water stirring rapidly until it becomes a paste
- 35:13Speaker 1: and then a rich full-bodied tea it has a strong
- 35:20Speaker 1: distinctive smell that reminds you a little of the sea
- 35:27Speaker 1: You close your eyes to savor the scent, breathing in deeply.
- 35:38Speaker 1: Yuto hands you the bowl of steaming tea. You cradle
- 35:45Speaker 1: the bowl in your hands for a moment, waiting for
- 35:49Speaker 1: it to cool, and then take a sip. It somehow
- 35:57Speaker 1: tastes both bitter and sweet at once. You resist the
- 36:06Speaker 1: instinct to judge and to decide whether you like it
- 36:11Speaker 1: or not. Instead, you simply hold the taste on your tongue,
- 36:19Speaker 1: noticing the complex balance of flavors. as you sip the
- 36:28Speaker 1: tea slowly you think of the zen garden you can
- 36:36Speaker 1: still see it in your mind's eye the perfect rectangle
- 36:43Speaker 1: of gravel and sand the miniature hill with its trickling
- 36:51Speaker 1: waterfall and the graceful movements of the monk you are
- 37:01Speaker 1: filled with a sense of contentment and gratitude. Soon, you'll
- 37:11Speaker 1: have to continue your journey. But, you know that wherever
- 37:19Speaker 1: you go, you'll take the memory with you. The Zen
- 37:29Speaker 1: Garden is not just a place, but a state of mind.
- 37:38Speaker 1: And you can visit anytime you like.
- 37:46Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you for watching. Thank you. Thank you.
- 39:20Speaker 2: Thank you. I don't know. I don't know. I don't
- 39:59Speaker 2: know Thank you for watching. Thank you. Thank you.