The parable of water creatures

Last week as I was talking with one of my friends about the practice of letting go, I was reminded of book that I read when I was in my teens. The book by Richard Bach, “Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah”, was one of my favorite books growing up. It describes the life of a fictional messiah who runs away from teaching others, and spends his life flying biplanes from town to town, giving people rides for a few dollars, and sometimes passing his wisdom to people that are open to his teachings. The book begins with a parable about the life of water creatures that live in the bottom of the river, and this is the topic of the blog post.

There was a Master come unto the earth, born in the holy land of Indiana, raised in the mystical hills east of Fort Wayne. The Master learned of this world in the public schools of Indiana, and as he grew in his trade as a mechanic of automobiles. But the Master had learnings from other lands and other schools, from other lives that he had lived. He remembered these, and remembering became wise and strong, so others saw his strength and came to him for counsel. It came to pass, because of the crowds, that the several foremen bid the Master leave his tools and go his way, for so tightly was he thronged that neither he or other mechanics had room to work upon the automobiles. So it was that he went into the countryside, and people following began to call him Messiah, and worker of miracles; and as they believed it was so. And always he spoke to them in parables.

And he said unto them, “within each of us lies the power of our consent to health and to sickness, to riches and to poverty, to freedom and to slavery. It is we who control these, and not another.” A mill-man spoke and said, “Easy words for you, Master, for you are guided as we are not, and need not toil as we toil. A man has to work for his living in this world.”

The Master answered and said, “Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river. The current of the river swept silently over them all -- young and old, rich and poor, good and evil -- the current going its own way, knowing only its own crystal self. Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of life, and resisting the current was what each had learned from birth.”

“But one creature said at last, "I am tired of clinging. Though I cannot see it with my eyes, I trust that the current knows where it is going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I shall die of boredom.” The other creatures laughed and said, "Fool! Let go, and that current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed against the rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom!” But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. Yet in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more. And the creatures downstream, to whom he was a stranger, cried, "See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! See the messiah, has come to save us all!” And the one carried in the current said, "I am no more messiah than you. The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this adventure.” But they cried the more, "Savior!" all the while clinging to the rocks, and when they looked again he was gone, and they were left alone making legends of a savior.”

Impermanence is a fact of life

The above parable is an astute description of our lives. We are dissatisfied because we refuse to change with the flow of life. The fact of our existence is that things change, we cannot control our circumstances, and despite our best efforts to keep things from changing, the reality is that nothing is ever constant. We are in a state of constant unhappiness because of our resistance to change. If we accepted circumstances without judgement we would suffer a lot less. This clinging to a fixed conception of reality, that is fabricated by our minds, is the primary cause of dissatisfaction and unhappiness. We want reality to fit our conception of how we want it to be, but reality is not fixed and is always changing. Impermanence is the truth of our existence.

The practice of letting go

One thing I really struggled with in my spiritual practice was translating these beautiful parables into my daily life. I didn’t understand how to practice letting go until I realized one day that our daily life is the Practice. Our life is the only reality, this is IT. It is impossible to have anything outside our daily existence because it would mean that there are two realities, our daily life, and something out there in the future outside ourselves that would free us.

This recognition is the first, and the most important step. It means accepting everything in our lives, including the bad, ugly, unworthy, and unwanted, as a part of our existence. If you watch your mind carefully, you will notice that any time that you have expectations from the current situation there is an immediate disconnect between what you want, and the reality of the current situation. Obviously, this does not mean condoning bad behavior or abuse or wanting to better yourself, but for the most of us, our current state of dissatisfaction arises because we resist the flow of life.

To be free of our constant need to find something outside of ourselves that will make us happy, all we have to do is to accept reality as it is. Our life is the Truth that we constantly seek. Our life is the practice. Anytime we face resistance to change, all we have to see is that the world is perfect in its imperfections. Just as the river flows without caring about the myriad creatures that live in it, reality flows without caring about our lives. Reality just IS.

Thank you for everything, I have no complaints whatsoever.

I am reminded about beautiful Zen story that describes the points that I make above in a different way. It is one of my favorite Zen stories, and I always come back to this story whenever I feel like complaining about my current circumstances.

In ancient Japan, many years ago, there lived a wise Zen master who taught one very simple method of enlightenment. She advised everyone who came to her to adopt an affirmation to be said many times a day, under all conditions. The affirmation was, “Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever.” Many people from all arenas of life came to her for healing. Some were in physical pain; others were emotionally distraught; others had financial troubles; some were seeking soul liberation. No matter what their distress or what question they asked her, her response was the same: “Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever.” Some people went away disappointed; others grew angry; others tried to argue with her. Yet some people took her suggestion to heart and began to practice it.

There was a young monk, who visited her and asked for advice about how to attain enlightenment. Just like she did for everyone else, the Zen master gave the same mantra to the young monk as well. “Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever.” The young monk took her advice to heart, and practiced for many years, but couldn’t make much progress. Disheartened he went back to Zen master and told her that he practiced her mantra with great diligence but despite his efforts he couldn’t make any progress. The Zen master looked at the young monk, smiled and said, “Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever.” Hearing her words the young monk was instantly enlightened.

Tradition tells that everyone who practiced this mantra found peace and healing.

Thank you for everything, I have no complaints whatsoever.

References:

1. Richard Bach; Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.