The karesansui — the dry rock garden — contains no water, no plants, and no living things. Just rocks and raked gravel. The raked patterns represent water, waves, or simply the movement of the mind. The act of raking is a meditation — repetitive, focused, absorbing. The garden is never finished because the gravel must be raked again tomorrow. This is ma in landscape form: meaning created through absence.

Going Deeper

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