Spring Is Here

I have been in Europe now for about five months. I had planned my stay badly, completely failing to take the weather into account. I have endured months of cold, snow, rain and leaden skies and by the time I leave in a few weeks the Summer will be well underway. Right now the Spring is just beginning. Like most people who have spent their lives in the tropics I really did not know how beautiful, not to say how welcome the Spring is. The Indian Spring (Pali vasanta) is not as dramatic as that in the northern hemisphere but apparently it was just as welcomed. This is what Udayi Thera says of the Spring in the Nidanakatha. ‘The Winter is ended, the Spring has began, men have gathered in the harvest and are taking it along the roads. The ground is covered with fresh green grass, the forest trees are in bloom, and the roads are suitable for traveling’ (Ja.I,86).

These are some pictures of the emerging spring flowers I have taken over the last week.

Posted by Shravasti Dhammika at 1:09 PM 1 comments