Now it came to pass that when Chen Jen and Tzu-yu had acquitted themselves of their accepted responsibilities and had recouped the funds owing to P’o-tzu, they returned to the forest of that wise hermit with the provisions they had pledged to bring.
And after spending many a sweet day in the company of their friends and that of the forest in which they dwelt, both emerged one morning from their separate huts with satchels packed and staves in their hands. Seeing them in such harmony of intention, P’o-tzu laughed heartily and exclaimed, “Truly it is but one path that these two follow, for even in their individual spontaneity they are in harmony!”
Laughing in their turn, the two sages bid their friends farewell and set off back down the trail to the river crossing which first brought them to this magic vale. And arriving again at the ferry, they found the ferryman beaming at their coming.
“My Masters!” he exclaimed, “Happy was the day you first came to my ferry and happier still this day of your returning! For all that you shared that day penetrated my heart and ever since have I contemplated that one blessed phrase: ‘A river finds its way.’ For truly in understanding this there is nothing left to know. How blessed I am to live beside this great river here that ever teaches me to let go and flow!”
“A joy indeed it is to find you thus transformed,” replied Chen Jen. “How simple, too, the teachings of all that is; for the message is but one: to just simply be.”
Thus the sages stayed several days with the ferryman who never ceased to beam and could not hear enough of the way of nature. And among his many clients who wished to cross the river, many were they who also stayed to hear all that was said.
But when Chen Jen and Tzu-yu requested that they, too, be given passage across the river, the ferryman became distressed and cried, “But my Masters! Can you not stay here with me beside the river and here instruct all who come this way!? Under this great tree could you not found a school which would become famous throughout the land!?”
“It is pleasant indeed to share words of the Tao,” replied Chen Jen, “but to make of them a school would be to contradict their meaning. Have you not heard how all the creatures of the forest, fleeing before a fire, will take refuge together on an islet in a lake or some river? Foxes and rabbits, deer and tigers will there be met together. But is this their natural lot or merely the consequence of their distress? Would it not be better that they were all dispersed within the forest following their natural course?
So it is with men. In distress with the fears of the ego-bound they flock together and cling to words and seek in them some unity of purpose. But would it not be better if, free of all such fear and need of purpose, they all just followed the leading of their heart? Such men are we, my dear friend, and our hearts now say, ‘move on.’"
And so the sages crossed the river and turned and followed the northerly path.
This post is part of a series. To view the index, go here.
And after spending many a sweet day in the company of their friends and that of the forest in which they dwelt, both emerged one morning from their separate huts with satchels packed and staves in their hands. Seeing them in such harmony of intention, P’o-tzu laughed heartily and exclaimed, “Truly it is but one path that these two follow, for even in their individual spontaneity they are in harmony!”
Laughing in their turn, the two sages bid their friends farewell and set off back down the trail to the river crossing which first brought them to this magic vale. And arriving again at the ferry, they found the ferryman beaming at their coming.
“My Masters!” he exclaimed, “Happy was the day you first came to my ferry and happier still this day of your returning! For all that you shared that day penetrated my heart and ever since have I contemplated that one blessed phrase: ‘A river finds its way.’ For truly in understanding this there is nothing left to know. How blessed I am to live beside this great river here that ever teaches me to let go and flow!”
“A joy indeed it is to find you thus transformed,” replied Chen Jen. “How simple, too, the teachings of all that is; for the message is but one: to just simply be.”
Thus the sages stayed several days with the ferryman who never ceased to beam and could not hear enough of the way of nature. And among his many clients who wished to cross the river, many were they who also stayed to hear all that was said.
But when Chen Jen and Tzu-yu requested that they, too, be given passage across the river, the ferryman became distressed and cried, “But my Masters! Can you not stay here with me beside the river and here instruct all who come this way!? Under this great tree could you not found a school which would become famous throughout the land!?”
“It is pleasant indeed to share words of the Tao,” replied Chen Jen, “but to make of them a school would be to contradict their meaning. Have you not heard how all the creatures of the forest, fleeing before a fire, will take refuge together on an islet in a lake or some river? Foxes and rabbits, deer and tigers will there be met together. But is this their natural lot or merely the consequence of their distress? Would it not be better that they were all dispersed within the forest following their natural course?
So it is with men. In distress with the fears of the ego-bound they flock together and cling to words and seek in them some unity of purpose. But would it not be better if, free of all such fear and need of purpose, they all just followed the leading of their heart? Such men are we, my dear friend, and our hearts now say, ‘move on.’"
And so the sages crossed the river and turned and followed the northerly path.
This post is part of a series. To view the index, go here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are unmoderated, so you can write whatever you want.