Zen refuge: Huntington Botanical Garden

Asian garden pavilion sits on a lily pond with lotus flowers as tall pines, bamboos, and plum blossoms surround it: The lovely Lotus Pavilion (Martha Benedict/The Huntington/LAist.com)

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Huntington Botanical Gardens in a new light

The Tao or "way" of Zen is [easy].

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens is opening evening access to its Twilight Garden Strolls hours during the summer months so more people can enjoy the gardens in cooler temperatures. Previously, only members could get tickets to the special program.

Why the Huntington is extending hours: “Opening in the evening allows us to welcome more visitors who can enjoy green spaces and see our gardens in quite literally a different light,” said Director of Membership and Visitor Services at the Huntington Kristin Voss.

The program has been such a success for members that the Huntington is now expanding ticket access to the general public.

The cultivation of stillness, silence, absorption

• [EDITOR SEVEN: What is "Zen"? In English it means "flow state," "effortless creativity," "artless artfulness," "unpremeditated spontaneity," "calm," "ease," but in Japanese it comes from the Chinese Chan (channa), which is an attempt to pronounce the Pali jhana (from the Sanskrit dhyana), all of which mean "meditative absorption." If meditation in English means flapping our wings to get in the air, efforting to alight off a branch in a tree on a cliff, in Buddhist terms it is the bhavana or "cultivation" of the subsequent effortless soaring. Just let go of the branch.

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  What if? - Don't do that to yourself. Be here now
  

  We make an effort (dharana) to let go, allow, let it be, accept what is, breathe being aware only of that breathing, which keeps us in the present moment, not reacting to whatever arises but merely observing, not falling into the habit of escaping to the past and dragging it into the present, not leaping into the habit of escaping into the future and dragging it into the present, staying only here and now mindful (present with) of the present, watching, and remaining watchful.

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  Thinking is not the way. Let go. See. Allow.

  It is the nonabandoning of the moment, the nondistraction from the object, the following this very moment into calm presence, unification of mind, stillness, coherence, which are ways of saying samadhi. First there was the subject (me) and the object (what was observed). Then, for a moment, they were one; that is, there was no distinction. They merged, one absorbing into the other. It was so Zen.]

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What’s different about the gardens in the evening hours: With the shift in temperatures and lighting, the gardens take on different sights, smells, and sounds.

One can see the campus during the “golden” or “magic” hour -- a favorite time for photographers when the sun is just about to set and casts an ethereal quality on plants and flowers.

Rose Garden Tempietto, Huntington Botanical Gardens (The Huntington)

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“The Desert Garden is one of my favorites,” said Voss. “There's something really lovely about the unusual shapes and colors matched with the warm tones of sunset during summer.”

How to take a tour after hours: This year, the Huntington has added Twilight Garden Estate Tours, a docent-led walk through many of the gardens and looks at some of the historic architectural features, on campus.

Docent leads Twilight Garden Estate Tour at Huntington Botanical Gardens (The Huntington)

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When and how to attend: There are three Twilight Garden Strolls left scheduled for the summer, but they will return. Hours are 4:30-8:00 pm. Reserve tickets ONLINE for $20.00. Tickets to the Estate Tours cost an additional $25.00. More: LAist.com

Wise quote and Zen comic art by Roshi Brad Warner, Angel City Zen, Los Angeles (WQ)

• Julia Paskin/LAist.com, July 21, 2024; CC Liu, Ashley Wells (eds.), Dhr. Seven (explanation of Zen), Wisdom Quarterly