One Zen monk, Bokuju, said: “Go and cross the stream, but don’t let the water touch you.”
And there was no bridge across the stream near his monastery. Many tried to do this, but when they crossed the stream, then, of course, the water touched them. So one day a monk came to him and said:
“You have given us an impossible task.” We are trying to cross this stream; there is no bridge across it. If there had been a bridge, then of course we would have crossed the stream and the water would not have touched us. But we are forced to walk through the stream, and the water touches us.
And Bokuju said:
“I’ll go and cross it, and you watch.”
And Bokuju crossed the stream. The water, of course, touched his feet, and they said:
- Look, the water has touched you!
Bokuju said:
“As far as I know, she didn’t touch me.” I was just a witness. The water touched my feet, but not me. I was simply a witness.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru