On the Meditation Garden

Spring visitors to Bennett Park will soon enjoy the daffodils that volunteers have planted along its western edge, in the area below the Children's Garden under development as a Meditation Garden. But, said a bystander watching the daffodil bulbs go into the ground, "What is a meditation garden?"

With his curious presence the bystander was already answering the question. A ìmeditation gardenî is meant to be gazed upon, to induce contemplation of nature and natural processes. Though sometimes a Japanese meditation garden contains gravel raked into beautiful patterns, a meditation garden typically contains greenery and beautiful flowers, like daffodils, as the focus of contemplation.

During a walk-through consultation last fall, Jane Schachat of the Parks Department expressed the professional opinion that lilies of the valley would be a suitable ground cover for the now barren strips of land on either side of the southern pathway through the park, near the game court. Schachat also endorsed the planting of vines to grow up the fences. She mused on the possibility of butterfly bushes in the northernmost of the two Meditation Garden areas on either side of the path. These simple plantings will enhance the existing stands of leather-leafed viburnum and will complement the trees that now provide shade and a home to birds and squirrels. Care will be taken with all new plantings not to interfere with the root systems of trees or well-grown bushes.

Some meditation gardens contain water features. In the current conception, ours will not. However, some neighborhood residents have asked that the Meditation Garden incorporate beautiful and significant rocks, such as those venerated in Chinese culture for their interesting shape and appearance of great age. By inviting speculation on the ancient vastness of the universe, rocks can provide a focus for cosmic meditation. Because they are not figurative, sculpture-quality rocks would not be alien to any of the world's religious traditions. WHNA is investigating the suitability of rocks as a landscape feature. If they turn out to be suitable for the site, WHNA will look for rock donor prospects.

The music of wind chimes is another typical feature of meditation gardens. The gentle wind-created sound, barely audible above the sound of wind itself, induces meditation on the importance of air as the medium of breath and life. WHNA is considering a wind-chime contest among the middle-schoolchildren of Washington Heights–group older and less well served than the children who currently enjoy the Children's Garden. Guest artists would lead workshops for the children, showing them how to make their chimes of found materials that might otherwise be discarded. The chimes would be hung one at a time as a constantly changing serial installation with minimal environmental impact.

During the winter months, when the Meditation Garden is inactive, WHNA's coordinator for the project, Patricia Eakins,the author of this article and a fiction writer, would like to lead writing workshops for young people to re-create the Meditation Garden as a landscape of the imagination. The writings would be posted on the fences or on a kiosk to remind us all that spring, the season of daffodils, will soon return.

In all seasons, the Meditation Garden will serve visitors of various ages and conditions who find the benches along the southern pathway through Bennett Park a welcome spot for rest, reading, and, yes, meditation. A meditation garden is, ultimately, a place where you stop and become more fully present to yourself--whoever you are!

August 2005