A Man, the Sprouts,
and the Rock
Over
the course of a life, there was one who was seeking, and he once happened upon
a body of water in a mountain valley.
The body of water was bordered on all sides by a rocky berm. On an outer edge of the berm lay a small
indent in the earth, within which several sprouts had taken root, but were
sickened due to thirst. Because the
seeker sought goodness, his heart was filled with compassion for the dying
sprouts and he committed himself to their healing.
Though he tried cupping water in
his hands to quench the sprouts’ thirsts, the seeker’s efforts were futile, as
the water simply ran through his fingers.
After much thought, the seeker at last exerted what seemed the whole of
his energy and lifted up a great rock that sat atop the berm between the water
and the sprouts. At the very moment the
seeker’s strength was sapped, he heaved the rock into the water, and with a
magnificent splash, the rock pushed wave after wave over the berm and into the
dry cove with the sprouts. Even as he
collapsed from the immense strain, the sprouts began to liven and grow, shading
the seeker, who had fallen beneath them, from the heat of the day and the
predators of the night.
Later, when the man awoke, he was
delighted to discover that the sprouts had matured into trees that bared much
fruit. The seeker took and ate fruit
from the trees, replenishing his body from the costs of his sacrificial deed,
and he knew that he had done what was right.
He then drank deeply from the pool of his own doing, in communion with
the trees, and he knew that this was good.
In his satiation, the man pondered
in his heart the whole of the experience, and his mind’s eyes were opened to
the good of which he had been a part. He
then realized, with his newly found insight, that it was his commitment to the
good of his part which brought about that which he sought. And with this understanding, the man went on
his way, so that the trees might benefit all else, and so that he may live the
goodness that he came to know.
Now hear this interpretation: The seeker is the self, and
the man is you. The mountain is the
hardships of life, and the valley is the pleasantness of life. The body of water is a life’s potential, the
rocky berm is life’s limitations, and the indent is inequality of life. The sprouts are all others, and their thirsts
are the needs of others. The man’s hands
are intentions, and his spilling is failure.
His strength is the willingness to pursue good, and his effort is the
pursuit itself. The rock is action, and
the waves are the effects of action. His
collapse is the cost of giving, the heat of the day is the pain of truth, the
predators of the night are those who pursue wrong, and the night itself is
ignorance. The eating of the fruit is the blessing of karma, and the communion
with the trees is the blessing of friendship.
The awareness of his part in the whole is true clarity, and that which
he gained is a purpose, truly understood.
