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