A man traveling along a path came to a large body of water. Standing on the shore, he realized there were dangers and discomforts all about while the other shore appeared safe and pleasant. The man looked for a boat or a bridge and discovered neither.
With great effort, the man gathered grass, twigs, and branches and tied them together to make a raft. Relying on the raft to keep him afloat, he paddled with his hands and feet and reached the other shore. Now, he could continue on dry land.
Now, what would he do with the raft? Would he drag it with him or leave it behind? He would leave it, the Buddha said. Then, the Buddha explained that the dharma [Buddhist teaching] is like a raft. He said the teaching is useful for crossing over but not for holding onto.
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Whatever spiritual teaching we follow, do we keep with it even when we can let it go? Some say the Buddha meant just that. Others say he referred to non-clinging.
There comes a point we may discard teachings that have fulfilled their purpose and embrace fresh teachings. Some persons leave their native faith and adopt a new path. This same applies to specific spiritual practices. These changes are legitimate when they arise naturally. Fidelity to the Way is not the same as fidelity to a specific religious or spiritual tradition.
I think the Buddha spoke of a changed relationship with the teaching. This change has been true for me. My relationship with wisdom teaching is much different from earlier in life. Also, my relationship with spiritual practice has been transmuted over time.
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In walking a path, we have a relationship with the path. Like all relationships, the path is changing us, and as we change, the path changes. What appears as mutuality of change is so, for there is no separation between the walker and the path. Even to say "I" and "path" is a duality that is not so.
Crossing to the other shore means growing to enlightenment. Yet, we are always deluded and enlightened, so we always cross over. Hence, there does not come a time for laying aside teachings and practices.
There are times, possibly one or more, of a significant shift, however, and the challenge is to go with that, not to resist. We go with the shift even though it can feel uncomfortable, like stepping into another landscape and not being able to be guided by the familiar markers of the past.
* * *
I cannot tell anyone how I-and-the-path have changed over time. We each discover that for ourselves. Yet, one shift for me has been not clinging to the path; this results in holding things lighter, even with humor.
One mark always true of harmful religion is adherents taking the tradition and themselves too seriously, which is deadening - deadly - to others, including the larger society, and self. Yet, that may be the beginning for many persons, as it was for me, out of which hopefully they emerge to a wiser, lighter way of being.
*Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major online booksellers or the publisher AuthorHouse.
