The Simple Way, Part 30

The Simple Way
The Life & Teachings of Zhouzi
by Scott Bradley

One of the younger monks suddenly fell ill, and so rapid was his decline that there seemed little hope for a recovery. Zhouzi then came to comfort him and sat by his bed. “Master”, said the monk, “it seems that soon I shall be no more, and I confess to you now that I am not free of fear.”

“You shall soon be free; for ‘death cures all ills’,” answered Zhouzi.

“Yet I had hoped to be free in life,” replied the monk.

“Tell me then, what is it you fear?”

“Master, the loss of my self—the empty void.”

“Say rather, the Mystery.” replied Zhouzi. “For of our coming and going we have no knowledge. But if the coming was good, why not the going? You have entrusted yourself to life, why not likewise entrust yourself to death? The world as we know it is always transforming, yet when does it ever cease to be Reality? And if it is the loss of self that you fear, then lose it now, for what can be lost has never been. Nothing is lost to Reality.”

“But, Master, how do I lose my self?”

“Through the realization of Unity,” answered Zhouzi. “Yet few, I admit, do so disappear—and I should not have spoken of what is now a false hope. Yet if you would now gladly lose your self, then why not rejoice, for your liberation is near.”

Then, even as Zhouzi sat by his bed, the monk disappeared. And one of the monks who had been in attendance said, “Master, you greatly eased his passing.”

“I only muddled and distracted his mind,” answered Zhouzi. “How amazing, this thing called death! Alone we all face it, our greatest fear, one after the other without exception—if only we could discover in life, the courage to let go in trust that we discover in death!”

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