GOING WITH THE FLOW A Retelling of a story from Chuang Tzu
for Children of All Ages
(told at the Sunday service at the First Unitarian Church of Providence on 7 September 2014)
James Ishmael Ford
Have you ever heard of Chuang Tzu?
He lived in China a very long time ago. He died around three hundred years before Jesus was born, around the time the Torah, the first five books of the Bible were being edited into the books we know. He is one of the first people we know as a story teller.
One of his most famous stories is about someone who fell asleep and dreamed he was a butterfly. Then, he awoke, and found himself wondering if he was a man who had just dreamed he was a butterfly, or, maybe he was a butterfly dreaming that he was a man.
Kind of silly, hunh? But, then, again. What do you think? Who is doing the dreaming? When is it a dream?
He also liked water a lot. In fact his religion is called Taoism, which means the way. But, it is also called the Water Course Way. The way of water flowing.
And, he told a story about it. Like the dreaming butterfly, or maybe the dreaming man, it is pretty short.
He tells about a great sage, a wise person name Confucius, perhaps you’ve heard of him, too? Although while this Confucius is based on the real person, it’s a story.
Anyway Confucius took a summer vacation. Have you ever taken a summer vacation? What did you do?
Well, Confucius wanted to see a great water fall, something very much like the Niagara Falls. Have you seen them, or pictures of them? They’re big. The water rushes over the cliff and pounds down. Just really powerful.
Every once in a while some tries to go over the falls in a barrel? Ever hear of that? Kind of silly don’t you think? In fact people have died doing that, they’re so powerful and it is so dangerous.
Anyway Confucius was standing with some of his students, he was a teacher, when they saw a man walk out to the water at the top of the falls and jump in. They were really horrified when they saw him tumble down the falls. Without even a barrel.
He sent a couple of his larger students down to the bottom to fish out the poor man’s body. He was sure no one could possibly survive those falls. If I were there, I’d assume so, too. But no sooner had they gotten down to the bottom than the man’s head appear in the water, and then he climbed out onto the bank.
Confucius climbed down to the bottom to interview the man. Not only was he a teacher, he was also always a student. Like all the best teachers he always wanted to know more.
The man was drying himself with a towel when Confucius came up to him. Confucius said “I’m absolutely amazed. How did you survive that fall? You didn’t even have a barrel. What’s the secret?”
The man replied, “No secret. I’ve lived along the banks of this river and near these falls all of my life. And I’ve made a study of them, and how they flow, and where the currents are, and the eddies, and the still places. All of it.
“So, what I do when in the river, is I simply bend myself with those eddies, and currents, and still places. I don’t struggle, I flow with it all.
“And that’s how I survive in the water.”
Maybe you’ve heard the term “go with the flow?”
Well, maybe this is the first time that was said.
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