Story of a River
Thich Nhat Hanh,
Born on the top of a mountain, the little spring dances her
way down.
The stream of water sings as she travels. She wants to go
fast. She is
unable to go slowly. Running, rushing, is the only way,
maybe even flying.
She wants to arrive. Arrive where? Arrive at the
ocean. She has heard
of the deep, blue , beautiful ocean. To become one with the
ocean, that is
what she wants.
Coming down to the plains, she grows into a young river.
Winding her
way through the beautiful meadows, she has to slow down. "
Why can't I
run the way I could when I was a creek? I want to reach the deep,
blue
ocean. If I continue this slowly, how will I ever arrive
there at all?" As a
creek, she was not happy with what she was, she really wanted to
grow into a
river.
But, as a river, she does not feel happy either.
She cannot bear
to slow down.
Then, as she slows down, the young river begins to notice the
beautiful clouds reflected in her water. They are of
different colors and
shapes floating in the sky, and they seem to be free to go
anywhere they
please. Wanting to be like a cloud, she beings to chase after
the clouds,
one after another. " I am not happy as a river.
I want to be like you, or I
shall suffer. Life is really not worth living".
So the river beings to
play the game. She chases after clouds. She learns
to laugh and cry. But the clouds do not stay in one place
for very
long. "They reflect themselves in my water, but then they
leave. No cloud
seems to be faithful. Every cloud I know has left me. No
cloud has ever
brought me satisfaction or happiness. I hate their
betrayal".
The excitement of chasing after the clouds is not worth the
suffering
and despair.
One afternoon, a strong wind carried all the clouds away.
The sky
became desperately empty. There were no more clouds to
chase after. Life
became empty for the river. She was so lonely she didn't
want to live
anymore. But how could a river die? From something you become
nothing? From someone, you become on one? Is it possible?
During the
night, the river went back to herself. She could not
sleep. She listened
to her own cries, the lapping of her water against the
shore. This was the
first time she had ever listened to herself deeply, and in doing
so, she
discovered something very important: her water was made of
clouds.
She had been chasing after clouds and she did not know that the
clouds were
her own nature. The river realized that the object of her
search was within
her. She touched peace. Suddenly, she could stop. She
no longer felt the
need to run after something outside herself. She was
already what she
wanted to become. The peace she experienced was truly
gratifying and brought
her a deep rest, a deep sleep.
When the river woke up the next morning, she discovered
something new
and wonderful reflected in her water - the blue sky.
"How deep it is,
how calm. The sky is immense, stable, welcoming and utterly
free". It seemed
impossible to believe that this was the first time the river ever
reflected the sky in her water. But that is true, because
in the past, she was
interested only in the clouds, and she never paid attention to
the
sky. No cloud could ever leave the sky. She knew that
the clouds were there,
hidden somewhere in the blue sky. The sky must contain within
itself all the
clouds and waters. Clouds seem impermanent, but the sky is
always there as
the faithful home of all the clouds.
Touching the sky, the river touched stability. She touched
the
ultimate. In the past, she had only touched the coming, going,
being, and
nonbeing of the clouds. Now she was able to touch the home
of all coming, going,
being, and nonbeing. No one could take the sky out of her
water anymore.
How wonderful it was to stop and touch! The stopping and
touching
brought her true stability and peace. She had arrived home.
That afternoon, the wind ceased to blow. The clouds came
back one by
one.. The river had become wise. She was able to
welcome each cloud with
a smile. The clouds of many colors and shapes seemed to be
the same,
but then again they were no longer the same for the river.
She did not feel
the need to possess or chase after any particular cloud.
She smiled to each
cloud with equanimity and loving kindness. She enjoyed
their reflections
in her water. But when they drifted away, the river did not
feel deserted.
She waved to them, saying "Goodbye. Have a nice
journey." She was not
longer bound to any of the clouds. The day was a happy
one. That night,
when the river calmly opened up her heart to the sky, she
received the most
wonderful image ever reflected in her water - a beautiful
full moon, a moon so
bright, so refreshing, smiling.
All space seem to be there for the enjoyment of the moon, and she
looked utterly free. The river reflected the moon in her
water and enjoyed
the same freedom and happiness.
The full moon of the Buddha travels in the sky of utmost
emptiness.
If the rivers of living beings are calm the refreshing moon will
reflect
beautifully in their water.
What a wonderful festive night for everyone - sky, clouds, moon,
stars, and
water. In the boundless peace, sky clouds, moon
stars, and water
enjoyed walking in meditation together. They walked with no
need to arrive
anywhere, not even the ocean. The could just be happy in
the present
moment. The river did not need to arrive at the ocean to
become
water. She knew she was water by nature and at the same
time a cloud, the moon,
the sky the stars , and the snow. Why should she run
away from herself?
Who speaks of a river as not flowing? A river does flow,
yes.
But she does not need to rush.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh, "Teachings on Love"
Sounds True, 1996