to know
one
must walk
no separation
between
knowing and walking
* * *
Dogen Zenji, founder of Soto Zen Buddhism, compared life to rowing a boat. So, being in the boat and rowing is part of the Way unfolding. The Way includes acting wholeheartedly, it includes the menial things we do daily. In terms of the Christian contemplative, this means the sacrament of the present moment; in terms of Buddhism, this means living mindfully. One can view this, either through a religious understanding, or not, for the Way includes both and is neither. So, rowing is rowing this moment, whether we feel we know where we are, or we feel totally lost. Rowing is always present.
* * *
One cannot rightly say, "I am part of all this, life is flowing, so, I can relax and, as they say, 'Go with the flow.'" Rowing itself is Life happening, the Way being the Way; rowing is part of the flowing.
If one does not row, where will the boat go? The boat may collide against a rock, and the boat break up. The boat may end up marooned to the shore, stuck. Or, the boat may end up floating aimlessly, going nowhere.
In all these contexts, the Flow is what is happening. And, so, relaxing and not taking responsibility shifts the whole Flow. See, the Flow itself is responsive, relational, either to rowing or not rowing; the Flow allows both, without judging either. This is not morality, not essentially, for the Flow is simply Life happening. To say the Flow, is to say the Way.
* * *
And, as to morality... The Way is too pure to be reduced to morality, and, anyway, one can do the right thing for all the wrong reasons. The Way is too profound to be reduced to anything other than Itself. Rowing, like the Way, cannot be merely a matter of rowing correcting, even if that is a good beginning point for acting responsibly. The Way is intended so to one one with the Way, that such thoughts as right and wrong no longer take precedence over wholeheartedly acting in compassion, in wisdom toward all beings. Anyone who learns an art, for example, knows the training evolves to being one with the act itself.
Continued...
