Applied Zen in Kyoto, the smallest Zen rock garden

The Zen gardens are made for meditation, so they are usually wide enclosed spaces, designed to prevent any distraction or disturbance. However, the Totekiko Zen garden of Ryogen-in, Kyoto, photographed here, is a bit unusual, because it was built... in the narrow space between two temple buildings.

Totekiko occupies only a few square meters, being the smallest Japanese Zen rock garden. Designed in 1958 by Nabeshima Gakusho, it represents a Zen koan: "The harder a stone is thrown in, the bigger the ripples".