Zen Garden Tour

Description

Zen Garden Tour at St. Lawrence University

The North Country Japanese Zen Garden was constructed in 2008 after a study-trip by students and faculty to Kyoto, Japan. The goal of the trip was to study famous Zen temple gardens, bring back design ideas, and create a garden inspired by Buddhist principles and reflect the spirit of the unique North Country environment.

There will be a tour of the history and elements of the garden, with an explanation of the different religious elements within the design, and how one might see the garden in the context of Buddhist practice. The second half of the tour is a hands-on activity where participants will make their own ema or votive tablet which they can leave in the garden to elicit good luck.

The garden tour will be led by Mark MacWilliams, St. Lawrence University Professor Religious Studies and Co-Director of the North Country Japanese Garden. Garden tour participants will meet at 12:50 p.m. on the St. Lawrence University campus at the flagpole outside the Sykes Courtyard.

The garden tour is free and open to all, a voluntary contribution of $5 is suggested to pay for your votive prayer tablets that can be left in the garden or taken home as a souvenir. The Japanese Zen Garden tour is a chance to extend your understanding of Buddhism and is part of the year-long World Spiritual Practices Project (WiSPP) grant from the Unitarian Universalist Association funding program (UUFP).

Registration suggested. Click here to pre-register here.