The elements used in Asian garden designs are the same elements used in Western gardens. These elements are arranged very differently, however, and they are often much smaller in size. The West longs for the sublime, the monumental, and the larger than life. In the East, serenity and the quiet contemplation of simple beauty is preferred, so gardens here are built to calm the mind rather than impress the imagination.
Water is always a part of an Eastern style garden. Even in a very traditional Zen garden, which uses only rocks and sand, the etchings in the sand are actually symbols of waves of water. Most Eastern gardens, however, use water itself as a major element. Waterfalls, streams, and ponds appear in both Japanese and Chinese garden forms.
The intent of Asian garden design is to release the mind of all sense of self, so that the True Self can be experienced without thought through intuition alone. This state of mind is known as consciousness awareness, or Nirvana. Water symbolizes this desirably state of pure Being freed from the limitations and suffering of individual form.
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