Crossing the Rivers of Fire and Water: A Parable*

Picture a traveler, journeying westward,

Having traversed mile after mile

A long road up hills and through valleys

But keeping his focus all the while.

 

All of a sudden, he encounters

An obstacle and doesn't know whether

He can continue. In front of him,

Two rivers are rushing together:

 

Extending north a river of water

Such as he had never seen prior

To that day; extending south

A spitting, spattering river of fire.

 

Dividing the rivers, there is a path--

A narrow one, five inches wide--

The only way for him to get

From one bank to the other side.

 

"Brigands and wild beasts are behind me,"

Gasps the traveler and lets out a cry.

"If I go back or stay here I perish.

But if I cross the rivers I'll die!"

 

He looks at the fiery, unending river

Extending south; then he looks north

At the raging, equally endless water

And says boldly, "I choose to go forth."

 

At times, waves of water surge

Over the path before him. And then

At other times, fiery flames

Scorch the path again and again.

 

He thinks he hears a voice behind him,

Urging him to keep going on.

Since he hears no other voices,

He wonders where the brigands have gone.

 

Coming from deep inside him perhaps

Or from the western bank a voice

Gives him greater confidence--

Gives him a reason to rejoice:

 

"Continue forward, traveler,

Sincere is your heart; single, your mind.

Grounded in right-mindedness,

You can leave your fears behind."

 

Then from the eastern bank he hears:

"Come back, or you will meet your death."

Offering empty promises,

The brigands only waste their breath.

 

Determined, our traveler keeps moving forward,

Knowing that all of his fears are groundless,

For once he reaches the western bank,

He is certain his bliss will be boundless.

 

The person who wrote the parable--

The venerable Shan Tao--explained

The meaning of every symbol therein,

But obviously, I have refrained

 

From saying too much. I have chosen

A way that's much more roundabout:

If you want to make sense of the story,

It's up to you to figure it out.

 

(10-31-17) By Bob B

 

*Based on the parable by Shan Tao (613-681)