Buddhist Ideas & Gardens – Pictures & Texts
Sometimes along garden paths there are sculptures which tell Buddhist stories. A common subject is important events in Buddha’s life.
Pictures & Texts Placed Along the Paths
In the garden at Kopan monastery in Nepal, there is a large, round, raised flowerbed called the Buddha Garden. All round it are little scenes of events in Buddha’s life, shown through arrangements of little statues. People can walk clockwise round this flowerbed and look at these scenes. The detailed story of Buddha’s Enlightenment is another common subject. Sometimes there are boards with writing which explain each sculpture.
Sometimes along the garden paths there are boards with short written passages which express Buddhist ideas, which people can read as they walk past. An example is in the garden of the Buddhapadipa Temple in Wimbledon, south-west London. A path runs alongside a still, dark lake and under many tall bushy trees, which draw down cooling gusts of wind, and over little bridges and round the gold and white Thai-style Temple. Along the path are wooden boards with sayings of Buddha written on them. These sayings come from the Dhammapada, which is a collection of short sayings of Buddha on a variety of subjects, somewhat like proverbs.
At Buddhist monasteries near the Himalaya mountains, sometimes there are paths along which the same Buddhist message is repeatedly carved into the stones. Sometimes the writing is painted in very bright colours. The photo shows a message in Tibetan alphabet at a monastery in Sikkim, near Tibet. The meaning of the message is that everyone has the potential to transform themselves into a Buddha through following a spiritual path based on kindness.
Continue reading: Statues of Buddha and lotus pools.
Other Sources of Information
www.buddhanet.net/dhammapada/index.htm - the Dhammapada.