The philosophical Trinity that merged Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism originated before Tang Dynasty and became popular in Song and Jin Dynasty. In the light of the Trinity philosophy and the history of garden aesthetics, this article examines the theme: “The mind changes with the environment but the environment will remain static if the mind remains tranquil”, and argues that these is an interactive mechanism between the subjective aesthetic ego and the objective outer world in the appreciation of garden beauty. The article further argues that traditional scholars in China showed a particular thinking pattern that employed the wisdom of Zen Buddhism to merge the theories of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. In other words, the traditional scholars may not be pious Buddhists or Taoists, but this would not hinder them from using the ideas and wisdom of Buddhism and Taoism consciously and effectively. The garden aesthetics of Jin Dynasty is the best window for us to see the particular thinking pattern of the Chinese traditional scholars. The article has four parts: 1) the proposal of the theme; 2) the origin of the theme; 3) the development of the theme and 4) the impact of the theme.
