Life is as transient as dew on the grass
– Zen Master Dogen
Blog
April is (not)the Cruellest Month ~ reflections on TS Eliot’s The Wasteland ~ by Karen Richards
In our final post, on the theme of Bright, Karen Richards reflects on why she does not share the view of TS Eliot when he claims that “April is the Cruellest Month” in his poem, The Wasteland. April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull …
Master of light
Continuing our theme of Bright, this week, Anna Aysea writes an evocative reflection, which is “inherently intimate, shining with the light of Being that is beyond time.” Light is a central element of his composition, and because of his skill in how to render it, the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer is called the master of …
The Brightness of Springtime & Friendship
This week, we continue our theme of ‘Bright’ with an insightful and moving post about the nature of true friendship and the natural world, by Mo Henderson. Springtime is here, with its brightness unfolding. The yellow daffodils shine on the roadsides and the delicate forget-me-nots peer out amongst the grasses. In our garden colourful, small …
Continue reading “The Brightness of Springtime & Friendship”
About
Dew on the Grass is the coming together of four Dharma friends who wish to express their lives as Buddhists through their writing, photography, art and other projects. The concept for a website came about when one of us was walking early one morning and noticed the dew glistening on the grasses. It reminded her of the words of Zen Master Dogen who, in 13th century Japan, wrote in his teachings that ‘This body is as transient as dew on the grass’, reminding us of the importance of not wasting our lives.
The nature of dew is that it appears in the morning, glistens for an instant and then disappears. Yet it always raises the spirits when you catch sight of it and it will always appear again. This website, therefore, is both an exploration and celebration of our own lives and an offering to those who happen by to read it. We set out to share, in a variety of media, our experiences and reflections.
If you like what you see, we invite you to use this platform to do likewise. You can do this by leaving a comment or by sharing your writing, photography and art using our contact page and we will publish it on your behalf. For guidance, written contributions should be no longer than 1000 words and reflect your life as a Buddhist. We reserve editorial rights.
We hope you enjoy your visit here.