Zen gardens are an aesthetically pleasing visual for the eyes and the mind. Zen gardens, whether part of your backyard or desktop, are meant to bring a sense of Zen or peace to you. It is difficult for us to maintain an actual garden depending on where we live. To solve that, the mini Zen gardens are made for your desk or tabletop and can have a similar effect to the actual Zen gardens.
With a lot of people working from home these days, it is difficult to stay away from stress and anxiety if you are working and living in the same space. A Zen garden kit can be placed next to your desktop computer or somewhere close in your house. They can become an easy escape to clear the mind, regain focus and self-control during those stressful meetings or during moments where we lack patience.
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What is the Main Purpose of a Zen Garden?
So the main purpose of a Zen garden has to be traced back to 14th century Zen Buddhism and the temples of Kyoto, Japan. This is where the expanded version of Zen gardens were developed. Zen gardens were supposed to replicate nature and assist the monks in their practice of meditation.
Why are Japanese Gardens so Peaceful and Relaxing?
The reason why Japanese Zen gardens are so peaceful is because they bring together the elements of nature in the form of water, sand or gravel, rocks, plants and provide a sense of tranquility that allows the person viewing it to find peace and calm.
What do Zen Gardens Symbolize?
Most people who lay eyes on a actual Zen garden or a mini desktop Zen garden will immediately find it calming, pretty, beautiful or peaceful. Zen gardens are depictive of nature. They provide a similar benefit to hiking up beautiful mountains or swimming in the ocean – they all connect us with nature. Zen gardens are specifically developed to help people (originally monks) in their meditative practice by being or becoming one with nature.
How Does a Zen Garden Work?
Zen gardens use white (or blue) sand to represent water. The patterns created in the sand depict the ripple effect when a stone or object hits the water. Ripples can either be wavy or circles. In desktop gardens, patterns of the sand are created using a rake or skewer. You can use the stones to create a mountain effect, plants to provide and element of life in you garden, and much much more. All of this depends on the type of garden you buy and the extra trinkets you add to make your garden calm and beautiful.
Are Mini Zen Gardens Worth it?
Mini zen gardens provide a sense of tranquility, peacefulness, and mindfulness that is within your reach. While finding an actual zen garden to walk around in would be great, it is more than unlikely that you would search for a garden whilst in the middle of a stressful work day.
Mini zen gardens that you can place on your desktop are an easy way to bring calm to your mind.
Are Zen Gardens Good for Anxiety?
Zen gardens are great for anxiety because they bring you back to the present moment. They act as a mindfulness tool to get you out of your head to create calm in the garden. The act of raking the sand or placing objects in your garden are peaceful acts that will help with stress and anxiety.
How Much Does a Mini Zen Garden Cost?
You can expect to pay anywhere from between $15 to $100 for a mini zen garden kit. It all depends on the type – plastic or wooden, and all the trinkets that come with it.
What are the Best mini Zen Gardens?
Here are 11 of the best Zen gardens that you can buy and set up in your home or office within minutes.
1. Y&S Styles Japanese Zen Garden for Desk Meditation
This mini Zen garden comes with a bag of white sand, a rectangular wooden frame, a fence, a bridge a gold Zen Buddha statue, and 2 rakes. The simplicity of this Zen kit provides you with the tools you need without making it overly complicated or crowded.
2. Sherhoods Japanese Zen Garden for Desk, Home Décor and Meditation
This zen meditation garden kit comes with a black round base, white sand, a boat, tower, fish, a bridge, a rake, and a cute bonsai tree! This is compact enough to be placed on your desk or even as a decorative piece on your coffee table, or anywhere in the house. The black and white combo is a perfect addition to any space.
3. Mevellya Beautiful Japanese Zen Garden Sand Kit
Another rectangular black wooden framed zen garden. It comes with white sand, stones, a bridge, 2 trees (one pink (cherry blossom-like), and the other green), and 2 rakes. This is the pefect size and equipment to keep at your side during stressful work situations. The free white space/ sand is a great way to distract and re-do the garden over and over again until peace is achieved. 🙂
4. Island Falls Home Mini Rock Zen Garden Kit
This meditation Zen garden is amazing! It can be used for yourself or as a perfect Zen décor gift for someone else. Definitely a beautiful classy Japanese décor item on your coffee table. It comes with Cherry Blossom trees, Shinto Torii gate, Zen rocks, pagoda, bridge, lotus flower, moss, and 6 rakes and tools!!!
5. Mini Zen Sand Garden Meditation Kit
Following the concept of Kanso (simplicity) this Zen garden kit comes with a bamboo wooden frame, a rake and leveling tool, white sand, stones, and a fold-flat fence. This relaxing Zen garden provides all the necessary elements to help bring calmness and clarity to help relax.
6. Oasis of Calm Japanese Mini Rock Garden Meditation Zen Kit
This meditation Zen garden comes with blue sand representing the ocean or blue water. It also comes with 6 handcrafted bamboo rakes & tools, black and white stones and pebbles, and a lotus flower. The beauty is in the raking designs you can create on the blue sand that bring coolness and a sense of calm to the mind.
7. Zen Garden with Panda for Relaxation & Meditation
Who doesn’t love pandas? Get this meditation Zen garden if you like Pandas. The kit comes with a standard bamboo wooden base with white sand, pebbles, a shovel and a rake, a bamboo tree and a panda! Very simple but perfect for those who like to re-do things over and over. This garden provides space and few elements to distract the process of the flow of raking.
8. Full on Zen Meditation Decor Mini Zen Garden for Desk Kit
This Zen garden comes with a black round base and white sand. Unlike most of the others, this comes with items such as 2 flow balls, mini pagoda Temple, incense burner, Agarwood incense sticks, a rake and a sand pen. This not only gives you tranquility and peace of the mind, but triggers your sense of smell with the incense stick and burner options it provides.
9. ActiveBliss Zen Garden for Desk or Coffee Table
This desktop zen garden is comparable to the others, but does come with 3 compartments within its black wooden base. It also has the option of the incense stick holder but without any incense sticks included. This also comes with garden tools such as the zen rake, zen pen, and brush, a mini plant, 2 mini koi fish, white zen sand and river rocks.
10. BangBangDa Japanese Tabletop Meditation Zen Garden Gift
This meditation Zen garden comes in a black wood based tray. It comes with an amazing pine bonsai tree, with a silver meditation Buddha status, a bridge, white ceramic crane bird, rocks, white sand, a six-tooth wide rake, and 2 koi carp. Very cute to set up and change every few days or as often as you’d like.
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Conclusion
Every Zen garden listed here can achieve the same level of calm and serenity you need. They are all made to bring out the best in those who interact with it or just see it.
The purpose of the Zen gardens is to advance or assist in your meditation. So they have the power to regulate your thoughts and calm your mind. And they are the best addition to your work desk or your coffee table or any space in your home or office.
Which Zen garden sparks the most peace for you?
Featured photo courtesy of amazon.com
