Culture Archives - The Dewdrop

Chan teacher Guo Gu on silent illumination, punk music and his teacher Sheng Yen's legacy.

‘Nature is Never Finished’ – Artist Robert Smithson on Cultural Confinement and Finding Real Freedom in Art

July 30, 2021July 30, 2021 Vanessa Able

Robert Smithson's brand of land art went against the hegemony of galleries and museums who he accused of dictating the context, meaning and value of art.

Book Bits

This is the Life: Annie Dillard Asks, Then What?

May 21, 2021May 21, 2021 Vanessa Able

Annie Dillard celebrates humanity by taking the widest view of its activities, hopes, dreams and values. She then asks, what would we really do with this new, expanded perspective?

Book Bits

The Culture of Healing: Louise Glück on Art’s Restorative Power

February 12, 2021February 12, 2021 Vanessa Able

Louise Glück's essay condemns current trends of pathological optimism, as well as the tendency towards 'the pornography of scars.'

Poetry

Gregory Pardlo – Raisin

October 7, 2020October 7, 2020 Vanessa Able

The anxieties of fatherhood and the tension of generational and racial dynamics weave through Gregory Pardlo's vibrant and dense poem, Raisin.

Book Bits

Alan Watts on Beat Zen and Square Zen

March 13, 2019 Vanessa Able

Our favorite rogue Zen philosopher, Alan Watts had a gift for contextualizing the principles of Zen and translating them in a way that non-Buddhist people would be able to comprehend. In this excerpt from his short book, 'Beat Zen Square Zen and Zen', he talks about the importance of understanding our own culture thoroughly so… Continue reading Alan Watts on Beat Zen and Square Zen

Letting the Old Thrills Die: C.S. Lewis on Being Alive to New Joy
Holding on to what is thrilling to us can be stifling and prevent us from paving the way for new experiences.
Working With the Soul Nerve – Resmaa Menakem on Grounding Our Bodies
Starting with the damage done by racism to human bodies, Resmaa Menakem presents a pragmatic approach to healing through the body.
What is Meditation? Shinzen Young on How to Deepen Our Focus
Shinzen Young on the most basic principle of mindfulness meditation: the cultivation of focus that can be practiced at any moment of the day, during any activity.
The Most Beautiful Thing We Can Experience Is The Mysterious: Albert Einstein’s Living Philosophy
Albert Einstein lays out his living philosophy and the set of ideals that he held in his personal, spiritual and political life.
Joseph Campbell On Experiencing Mystery
Joseph Campbell takes on the notion of experiencing mystery and considers how religious narratives can actually stymie the expansive human experience of transcendence.

Tishani Doshi – Hope is the Thing
Tishani Doshi's poem pays homage to a twelve-year-old girl who died of exhaustion last year during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Anne Hillman – We Look With Uncertainty
Hillman's poem about uncertainty and regeneration acknowledges the vulnerability of human existence 'which is every moment / at the brink of death', standing, waiting, 'learning to love.'
Jane Hirshfield – All The Difficult Hours and Minutes
In Hirshfield's poem, calamity turns to calmness when things turn into themselves, a principle that goes to the heart of transformative practice.
Shangyang Fang – Chaconne
Fang's beautiful and complex poem addresses the questions of sin and redemption against the background of a young monk entering a monastery.
Jericho Brown – Bullet Points
Jericho Brown's poem talks to the weight carried by black Americans who live under the constant threat of police violence and injustice.

Tag: Culture

Body Like a Rag, Mind Like a Mirror – Guo Gu Breaking Through Boundaries

‘Nature is Never Finished’ – Artist Robert Smithson on Cultural Confinement and Finding Real Freedom in Art

This is the Life: Annie Dillard Asks, Then What?

The Culture of Healing: Louise Glück on Art’s Restorative Power

Gregory Pardlo – Raisin

Alan Watts on Beat Zen and Square Zen