Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Buddhist : Zen / Chan 13th Century	About Dogen Timeline (1200 - 1253)
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English version by Steven Heine Original Language Japanese	Impermanence
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger Themes   Moon           Recommended Books The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhalla Library), Edited by Sam Hamill / Edited by J. P. Seaton The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace, by Steven Heine Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter, Translated by Lucien Stryk / Translated by Takashi Ikemoto	To what shall I liken the world? Moonlight, reflected In dewdrops, Shaken from a crane's bill.     -- from The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace, by Steven Heine Amazon.com
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

This poem by the Japanese Zen master Dogen paints a beautiful poetic image, but what does it really mean? What do moonlight and dewdrops have to do with a description of the world?

The moon, as I've said elsewhere, is a common spiritual metaphor used to describe enlightenment. Moonlight would be understood to mean the radiance of pure awareness that permeates the universe.

Here, that moonlight, that awareness, is "reflected / In dewdrops." Water is often used in Zen poetry as a symbol for the experience of the world -- it is tangible, yet ephemeral; it cannot be stopped or grasped. In the form of dew, it is in it's most fleeting form, ready to disappear at the slightest heavenly warmth.

Each dewdrop can be seen as an individual experience of the world or, alternately, an individual experiencer of the world. Each drop may appear separate, but they are of one substance. Although these worldly experiences do not generate light of their own, they reflect the light of pure awareness. Each drop, in fact, fully reflects the whole moon. There may be one moon above, but each person and each experience contains the full reflection of that moon within.

This is what Dogen is saying when he answers the question "To what shall / I liken the world?" Our notion of ourselves, our experiences, these are "the world." And, though this world is fleeting, it still offers us glimpses of the enlightenment that permeates all things, so long as we look at what is reflected within.

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.
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