Zen philosophy, with its roots in Buddhism, is known for its focus on meditation and mindfulness practice. In this tradition, gems, especially quartz, have been used for centuries as tools to facilitate meditation and promote serenity and connection with the world around us. In this article, we will explore how certain gems, such as quartz, are used in Zen philosophy and how these practices can benefit those who practice them.

Quartz and its Meaning in Zen Philosophy

Quartz is one of the most commonly used gems in Zen philosophy due to its unique properties and its connection to the earth. In the Zen tradition, quartz is considered a stone of healing and balance, and it is believed to have the ability to purify the body and mind. Additionally, quartz is associated with mental clarity and concentration, making it a valuable tool for meditation and mindfulness.

How Gems are Used in Zen Philosophy

In Zen practice, gems are used in various ways to facilitate meditation and promote serenity and connection with the world around us. Some of the most common ways of using gems in Zen philosophy include:

Meditation with Gems: During meditation, a gem can be held in the hand or placed in front of one to focus the mind and promote concentration. Quartz, with its calming energy, is especially useful for this practice.

Gems in the Environment: Gems can also be placed in the meditation environment to create a tranquil and harmonious atmosphere. For example, quartz can be placed in a room to promote serenity and calm.

Gems in Jewelry: Some people use gems in jewelry as a constant reminder of serenity and connection with the world around us. For example, a quartz necklace can serve as a daily reminder of the importance of meditation and mindfulness.

Benefits of Using Gems in Zen Philosophy

The practice of using gems in Zen philosophy can have several benefits for the mind and body. Some of these benefits include:

1. Increased Concentration: Gems, especially quartz, can help focus the mind and promote concentration during meditation.
2. Serenity and Calm: Gems are associated with serenity and calm, which can help reduce stress and anxiety.
3. Connection with Nature: Gems, being made of natural materials, can help promote a greater connection with nature and the world around us.
4. Purification and Balance: Quartz is believed to have the ability to purify the body and mind, promoting greater balance and harmony.

Wittelsbach diamond became the most expensive stone or piece of jewelry ever sold at an auction at Christie’s in Central London. This sky-blue gem was given as the wedding dowry of a Spanish princess “Infanta Magarita Teresa” painted by Velazquez on 1664. The said jewel is originally from India and hasn’t been on the market for 80 years.

According to dailymail, the London Bond Street-based jeweler Laurence Graff paid a whopping £16.4 million (US $24.47 million) for the extraordinary Wittelsbach diamond. Mr. Graff said that diamond might have sold for £50 million if there had been no credit crunch. Graff says that he will reshape the 35.56 carat gem before selling it. Earlier, the diamond was expected to sell for £9 million, but the auction ended with setting the world record for the most expensive diamond.

 Turquoise is a hydrous copper aluminum silicate, that occurs in microcrystalline nodules. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue. In recent times turquoise, like most other opaque gems, has been devalued by the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics onto the market, some difficult to detect even by experts.

Turquoise is a secondary mineral deposited from circulating waters, and it occurs chiefly as an opaque, granular vein running through a host rock. The substance has been known by many names, but the word turquoise was derived around 16th century from the French language either from the word for Turkish (Turquois) or dark-blue stone (pierre turquin). This may have arisen from a misconception: turquoise does not occur in Turkey but was traded at Turkish bazaars to Venetian merchants who brought it to Europe.

The use of turquoise dates back to 3000 B.C.- 4000 B.C.in the Sinai. It was the primary holy stone for Native Americans living in the Southwestern United States. Every Navajo carried a "personal" piece of turquoise. Middle Eastern tradition claimed that turquoise prevented accidents, especially falling. It was a talisman for horsemen, to keep them from falling off the horse. This belief carried over to Europe, evolving into the belief that if one did fall, no bones would be broken.

The healing power of turquoise is said to be a guard against all diseases. It assist in tissue regeneration, subtle body alignment & strengthening. It has been thought to warn the wearer of danger or illness by changing color. Turquoise is also believed to bring happiness and good fortune to all. It's said that turquoise attracts healing spirits, making it a premier healing stone and it is also a valuable amulet for travelers. Turquoise along with zircon are birthstones of Sagittarius (Archer) form Nov. 22-Dec. 21 and the anniversary gemstone for the 5th year of marriage.

 Zircon derives from the Arabic word zarqun, meaning vermilion, or perhaps from the Persian zargun, meaning golden-colored.. It is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. Its chemical name is zirconium silicate and its corresponding chemical formula is ZrSiO4. The high refractive index and dispersion of zircon cause it to approach diamond in fire and brilliancy. The crystal structure of zircon is tetragonal crystal class and the natural color varies between colorless, yellow-golden, red, brown, and green.

Zircon contains trace amounts of the radioactive minerals hafnium, uranium and thorium. Over time, these radioactive components break down the lattice of the crystal, eventually (over tens of thousands of years) destroying the crystal, leaving it with an amorphous structure and a dark pithy appearance. Zircons that are young and unaffected by radioactivity are termed "high" zircons. These stones are transparent golden, yellowish-green and greenish-brown in color with incredibly high dispersion. "High" zircons can be heated to temperatures greater than 1800 degrees Fahrenheit and become colorless or blue. These highly dispersive colorless stones have long been used as diamond substitutes.

The healing ability of Zircon can relieves pain. It is said to whet one's appetite and also prevents nightmares and ensures a deep tranquil sleep. Zircon supposedly helps one be more at peace with oneself and is believed to provide the wearer with wisdom, honor and riches. The lost of luster on a Zircon stone is said to warn of danger.

On Mohs’ scale of hardness, it is 6.5-7. It has a vitreous to brilliant luster and sources include Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Sri Lanka, Australia, Vietnam, Korea, Madagascar, Brazil, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania and Cambodia. Blue Zircon along with turquoise are birthstones of Sagittarius (Archer) from Nov. 22-Dec. 21.

 Topaz is derived from the Indian Sanskrit word tapas, meaning fire. It is an aluminum, hydroxyl-flourine silicate. Strong chemical bonding makes it the hardest of the silicate minerals. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and its crystals are mostly prismatic terminated by pyramidal and other faces, the basal pinacoid often being present. It has an easy and perfect basal cleavage, meaning that gemstones or other fine specimens have to be handled with care to avoid developing cleavage.

Topaz typically occurs in cavities in rhyolites and granite, in pegmatite dikes, and in high-temperature veins with cassiterite and tourmaline. A common misconception is that all topaz is yellow. It is most commonly colorless, but colors include blue, pale green, and the spectrum of yellow through sherry orange to pink, and most unique, red.

During the Middle Ages topaz was thought to strengthen the mind and prevent mental disorders as well as sudden death. It assists in general tissue regeneration and is valuable in the treatment of hemorrhages. It also increases poor appetite and helps fighting blood disorders. Topaz also balances emotions and calms passions and has been considered a "cooling" gem, much like ruby is considered a "hot" gem. Topaz was thought to have the ability to quickly cool boiling water and flaring tempers.

Topaz has a hardness of 8 in Mohs scale, a specific gravity of 3.4–3.6, and a vitreous luster. It is also believed that topaz along with citrine are birthstones of a person born under the zodiac sign of Scorpius (Scorpion) from Oct. 24 - Nov. 21 and the anniversary gemstone for the 4th and 19th year of marriage. Imperial topaz is the anniversary gemstone for the 23rd year of marriage.

 Tourmaline is a mineral group that is chemically one of the most complicated groups of silicate minerals. It is an extremely complex borosilicate that occurs in more than 100 colors. It is hard and durable and very well suited for jewelry. Tourmaline belongs to the trigonal crystal system and occurs as long, slender to thick prismatic and columnar crystals that are usually triangular in cross-section. It is distinguished by its three-sided prisms; no other common mineral has three sides. Prisms faces often have heavy vertical striations that produce a rounded triangular effect.

The colored varieties, when transparent and free from flaws, are cut as gems. Transparent crystals of tourmaline are dichroic - the depth of color varies as the crystal is turned in the light. It is 7.5 on the Mohs scale and has no cleavage, making it suitable for many types of jewelry use. Sometimes referred to as the “electric stone,” tourmaline becomes statically charged when heated or rubbed, attracting dust, lint and small pieces of paper.

Tourmaline along with opal are birthstones of a person under the zodiac sign of Libra (Balance) from Sept. 23 - Oct. 23. Multicolored Tourmaline is the anniversary gemstone for the 8th year of marriage. The healing ability of tourmaline calms nerves, regulates hormones, fights against genetic disorders and induces a tranquil sleep.According to legend, the tourmaline of all colors protects the wearer against many dangers and misfortune. It was a talisman for artists, actors and writers. Today,it is mined extensively in South America, East Africa and in Southern California.

 Opal is a hydrous, silicon dioxide. It is unlike other minerals because it is not crystalline. It is considered to be a hardened jelly. It's water content sometimes being as high as 20% but is usually between three and ten percent.

Opal is a mineraloid gel which is deposited at relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, and basalt. It is a unique gemstone with a beautiful play-of-color display. It can exhibit a full range of hues from the color wheel set against a light or dark background. The color of Opal ranges from clear through white, gray, red, yellow, green, shore, blue, magenta, brown, and black.

Precious opals are translucent to transparent and are distinguished by a combination of milky to pearly opalescence and an attractive play of many colors. These colors flash and change as a stone is viewed from different directions are caused by interference of light along minute cracks and other internal inhomogeneities.

Black opal is regarded as an extremely lucky stone. In ancient times opal was accepted as a symbol of faithfulness and confidence and has been described in medival times as a cure for diseases of the eye. Opal along with tourmaline are birthstones of a person born under the zodiac sign of Libra (Balance) from Sept. 23 - Oct. 23. It is also the anniversary gemstone for the 14th and 18th years of marriage.

 Peridot is pronounced as "pair-uh-doe", is the gem quality variety of forsteritic olivine. It is also called precious olivine, a gem-quality transparent green olivine. The name of the gemstone is believed to come from either the Arabic word faridat meaning "gem" or the French word peritot meaning "unclear." The crystals of peridot have a vitreous lustre and conchoidal fracture. Peridot is also often referred to as "poor man's emerald". Peridot crystals have been collected from iron-nickel meteorites.

Peridot is said to have healing ability. It increases strength & physical vitality and protects against nervousness and aids in healing hurt feelings. It helps liver & adrenal function and is also thought to protect lungs, sinuses, and wrists from illness and injury.

Peridot along with sardonyx are birthstones of a person born under the zodiac sign of Leo (Lion) from July. 23 - Aug. 22. It is also the wedding anniversary gemstone for the 16th year of marriage.

 Ruby is a red gemstone that varies from a light pink to a blood red, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide). The color is caused mainly by chromium. A fine ruby still commands the highest price of any stone in the world! The brilliant red color of the ruby has supported many tales.

Ruby is considered one of the four precious stones, together with the sapphire, the emerald and the diamond. One is that rubies store vast quantities of heat and when placed in water, they will cause the water to boil. It is a powerful stone and has long been considered a magnet for prosperity, attracting abundance both materially and spiritually.

On Mohs’ scale of hardness, ruby is 9. It has a strong luster like diamonds and sources include Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Kenya, Afghanistan, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Tanzania.

Ruby is the birthstone of a person born under the zodiac sign of Cancer (Crab) from June 22 – July 22.

 Moonstone (also called rainbow moonstone) is soft milky white stone. The moonstone named for its semblance in color to the moon. It is a gemstone that belongs to Feldspar family. Feldspar is a group of minerals that are very important in rock formation, accounting for over half the earth's crust. Some moonstone is a variety of albite feldspar, which is a sodium aluminum silicate.

It exhibits a range of colors including yellow, a pale silver sheen, a blue, pink and pale shades of peach and apricot. The rarest and most expensive will be colorless with a floating blue color that seems to hover above the stone. In India it was believed that moonstones placed in the mouth during a full moon would allow you to correctly envision the future. It's been claimed that moonstone can lead to psychic immortality because it fortifies the spirit to stand alone from the body.

Moonstone has a mystical power and is believed to be protective for women and babies. It's also associated with the sea and planting cycles. It is said that it is a sacred stone India. It is believed to bring good fortune. Legend says that Moonstone is a highly prized gift for lovers as it arouses tender passion.

Moonstone along with alexandrite and pearls are birthstones of a person born under the zodiac sign of of Gemini (Twins) from May 21 - June 21. It is the anniversary gemstone for the 13th year of marriage oonstone is the 13th anniversary stone.

On Mohs’ scale of hardness, moonstone is 6-6.5. It has a vitreous luster and primary sources include Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Brazil, India, Madagascar and the United States.

 Pearl is a hard, rounded object produced by certain animals, primarily mollusks such as pearl oysters. Natural pearls are formed when an irritant becomes lodged in a pearl oyster, and gets coated with a natural secretion of calcium carbonate called nacre. The chief component of the nacre that constitutes the pearl is aragonite.

Pearls can be used in jewelry and also crushed in cosmetics or paint formulations. It is valued as a gemstone and is cultivated or harvested for jewelry. Pearls are characterized by their translucence and lustre and by a delicate play of surface color called orient. The more perfect its shape (spherical or droplike) and the deeper its lustre, the greater its value.

The largest pearl ever found was came from the Philippines in 1934. It weighs 14 lb (6.4 kg) and was discovered by an anonymous Filipino Muslim diver off the island of Palawan. Later, a Palawan chieftain gave the pearl to Wilbur Dowell Cobb in 1936 as a gift for having saved the life of his son. The pearl had been named the “Pearl of Allah” by the Muslim tribal chief because it resembled a turbaned head.

Pearl and cultured pearl along with alexandrite and moonstone are birthstones of person born under the zodiac sign of Gemini (Twins) from May 21 - June 21. It is the anniversary gemstone for the 12th and 30th year of marriage and freshwater pearl is the anniversary gemstone for the 1st year of marriage. Pearl eliminate emotional imbalances and symbolizes love, success, and happiness.

 Emerald comes indirectly from the Greek “smaragdos”, a name that seems to have been given to a number of stones having little in common except a green color. It is a variety of the mineral beryl, colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium.

The origin of the word "Emerald" is said to be a Sanskrit word meaning "green". They said that Emerald was the sacred stone of Venus and today it is regarded as a stone of the heart. This glorious stone was traded in one of the earliest known gem markets in Babylon around 4000 B.C.

On Mohs’ scale of hardness, emerald is 7.5-8. The world’s finest emeralds are found in the Andes of Colombia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Russia (Urals), Pakistan, Zambia, Tanzania, United States (North Carolina), Afghanistan, Australia , Ghana, India, Madagascar and Malawi.

Emerald is the birthstone of a person born under the zodiac sign of Taurus (Bull) from April 20 - May 20. It is the anniversary gemstone for the 20th, 35th and 55th year of marriage. It is also said that emerald is extensively used for physical and emotional healing. This stone also an antidote for poisons and poisonous wounds. It aids with ailments of the spine and help fighting all mental illness and neurological disorders.

Emerald also gives faith, success in love and discovery of false friends. It changes color in the presence of false friends or false witnesses. It promotes constancy of mind, true friendship, and felicity in domestic life. As a love token, it registers the degree of love and if pale, love is waning.

 Diamond comes from the Greek word “adamas” meaning invincible. It is crystallized carbon, the only gem composed of a single element. It is the hardest natural material known to man and the third-hardest known material after aggregated diamond nanorods and ultrahard fullerite. Its hardness and high dispersion of light make it useful for industrial applications and jewelry.

The most popular diamonds are traditionally colorless, but they can also be found in yellow and brown colors. Although much rarer, diamonds known as “fancies” also come in blue, red, pink, green, orange and black. They make excellent abrasives because they can be scratched only by other diamonds, Borazon, ultrahard fullerite, or aggregated diamond nanorods, which also means they hold a polish extremely well and retain their lustre. On Mohs’ scale of hardness, diamond is the world’s hardest substance at 10. 1 is the softest and 10 is the hardest.

People before already used diamonds as their gift to other noble people. The first recorded diamond engagement ring was on 1477, when Archduke Maximillian gave his betrothed a ring set with a diamond as a love token.

It is the birthstone of a person born under the zodiac sign of Aries (Ram) from March 21 - April 19. It is said that diamond has a healing ability. Diamond is a great assistance for all brain diseases and strengthen the owner's memory. Diamonds give faith, purity, life, joy, innocence and repentance. It is an antidote to poison and is capable of detecting poison by exhibiting a moisture or perspiration on its surface. Supposedly, the higher quality the diamond, the better it supports these qualities.

 Garnet comes from the Latin word granatus ("grain"), possibly a reference to the Punica granatum ("pomegranate"), a plant with red seeds similar in shape, size, and color to some garnet crystals. It is a group of minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. It can be translucent to transparent, sometimes opaque with a vitreous or resinous lustre. The best known type of garnet is red semi-precious stone pyrope, one of several red gems, which the ancients used to call Carbuncles.

There are six common varieties of garnet that are recognized based on their chemical composition. They are pyrope, almandine, spessartite, grossular (varieties of which are hessonite or cinnamon-stone and tsavorite), uvarovite and andradite. The garnets make up two solid solution series; 1.) pyrope-almandine-spessarite and 2.) uvarovite-grossular-andradite.

Garnet symbolizes fire, faith, courage, truth, grace, compassion, constancy and fidelity. It gives an excellent assistance for blood deficiency diseases and stimulates bloodstream and pituitary gland, relieves rheumatism and arthritis pain to the person wearing this gem.

 Aquamarine is derived from latin words aqua (“water”) and marine (“blue”). It is a gemstone-quality transparent variety of beryl, having a delicate blue or turquoise color, suggestive of the tint of seawater. It's closely related to the gem emerald. Colors vary and yellow beryl, called heliodor; rose pink beryl, morganite; and white beryl, goshenite are known. Beryl is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminum silicate, a commercial source of beryllium.

Aquamarine is 7.5-8 on Mohs’ scale of hardness. Its primary sources include Brazil, Russia (the Urals), Australia (Queensland), Burma (Myanmar), China, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the United States.

Aquamarine healing ability works against nerve pain, glandular problems, toothache, and disorders of the neck, jaw and throat. It strengthens liver and kidneys and diminishes problems with eyes, ears and stomach, relieves cough. Moreover, aquamarine protects from perils of the sea, including seasickness.

 Sapphire is the single-crystal form of aluminum oxide. It is a gem variety of corundum in transparent or translucent crystals of a color other than red, also known as ruby. Other color of sapphire are blue, yellow, purple, orange or greenish color which comes from mixed amounts of elements such as iron, titanium and chromium.

Although blue is considered as the normal color for sapphire. Those other than blue in color are considered fancy color sapphires. There are also sapphires that blend in color and they call it “color shift sapphires”. Color shift sapphires are blue in outdoor light and purple in indoor light. Color changes may also be pink in daylight to greenish in fluorescent light.

 Alexandrite (named after Czar Alexander's II) is a highly prized variety of chrysoberyl. It only forms when aluminum/beryllium and chrome (which rarely occurs in nature) come together, accounting for its rarity. It is also a remarkable and valued variety that when viewed along the different crystallographic (optical) axes, changes from columbine red to orange yellow to emerald green. In addition, the stone changes from green in daylight to red in artificial light.

Alexandrite helps fighting low self-esteem people and improves central nervous system disorders. It also relieves spleen & pancreas problems. Alexandrite along with pearls and moonstone are birthstones of Gemini (Twins) that is born from May 21 - June 21 and it is the anniversary gemstone for the 45th and 55th year of marriage.

 Amethyst comes from the Greek word a ("not") and methuskein ("to intoxicate"), a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness. It is the most highly valued and recognizable gemstone of the quartz family. Its affordable pricing makes it a perennially popular choice. It is the most valuable transparent, coarse-grained variety of the silica mineral quartz that is valued as a semiprecious gem for its violet color. It contains more iron oxide (Fe2O3) than any other variety of quartz, and experts believe that its color arises from its iron content.

Amethyst magnifies psychic abilities and right-brain activity. It strengthens immunity, while energizing and purifying the blood. It also relieves headaches, improves blood sugar imbalance. Amethyst is the birthstone of the people born under the zodiac sign of Aquarius (Water Bearer) that is born from Jan. 20 - Feb. 18 and the anniversary gemstone for the 4th and 6th year of marriage.