The so-called "Japanese Zen Garden" is a myth. It is a late 20th Century WESTERN creation that has nothing to do with the Japanese Garden Tradition. While some Westerners may be enamored with the idea of a so-called "Zen Garden" that links Zen Buddhism with the Japanese dry garden aesthetic, it is a patently false idea. Some Buddhism experts even dismiss the Western concept of Zen Gardens, claiming that Zen principles are about what's within you, not the environment that surrounds you.

Photos of Japanese monks meditating on dry gardens are staged events. In Japan, monks meditate while facing a wall, not while facing a garden. The correct Japanese name for what Westerners call "Zen Gardens" is karesansui. A good English translation of this word is "dry garden." The Japanese dry garden aesthetic is by no means unique to the gardens found adjacent to Zen temples. Dry gardens can be found outside homes, restaurants, and inns. Likewise, the gardens around Zen temples come in many different styles, and dry gardens are just one of them.