Life is as transient as dew on the grass
– Zen Master Dogen
Blog
Facing Life and Death
A dying man asked photographer Erwin Olaf to make a farewell portrait. He died a couple of hours after this final picture was taken, photographed at home as he was already too ill to come to the studio. What strikes me is the powerful presence and the unflinching peace that is emanating from the face, …
Memory
I was interested to catch, on BBC Sounds recently, a programme made by William Miller about his father Jonathan. (Radio 4, Archive on 4: Lost Memories). Jonathan Miller was fascinated by the human brain and in particular the workings of memory. It was a cruel irony that in the end his own brain was destroyed …
Reflections of Braiding Sweetgrass Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants-by Robin Wall Kimmerer
I loved this book and would like to share with you some thoughts and points which jumped out of the pages and inspired me greatly. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology and also the founder of the Centre for Native Peoples and the Environment in Syracuse, New York. It is a …
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 500 – 600 words and reflect your life as a Buddhist. We reserve editorial rights.
We hope you enjoy your visit here.