Selling Water by the Banks of the River: The Great Play

Meetings are an opportunity to explore our actual present moment experiencing, to question our beliefs and ideas, and perhaps to discover the aliveness, openness and undivided immediacy of Here / Now. We may find that everything is happening by itself, that no one is running the show, that our thoughts, interests, intentions and actions appear here in the same way that the breath, the wind, the clouds, the trees, and the galaxies appear here – that the boundary between inside and outside cannot actually be found – that it is all one seamless happening.

Meetings have no agenda. They are not intended to provide answers. They are simply an opportunity to look and listen together and see what emerges.

One old Zen master, seeing the delightful absurdity of his job, famously described it as selling water by the banks of the river. Our True Nature has never been absent, even in moments of so-called delusion, nor is it gained anew during any so-called enlightenment or awakening. Our True Nature is the aware presence, the beingness that is undivided, uncontained and unbound. Nothing is beyond it or outside of it. We already are what we are seeking. No one is any closer to Here / Now than anyone else, just as no wave is any wetter or any closer to the ocean than any other wave. No wave is ever anything other than the ocean waving.

But when our attention is absorbed in thoughts, stories and beliefs, it seems that we are a separate unit of consciousness encapsulated inside an independent and perishable bodymind, steering that bodymind through life. We seem to be a wave that has lost touch with the ocean, a fragment in a fragmented world. We look for happiness “out there” somewhere in the future. We feel driven to “be somebody” and “make something of ourselves” and “get somewhere” and "do it right." Something always seems to be lacking or in excess. The ocean seems far away -- mysterious and unattainable. We think that "enlightenment" is some thing (an experience, an understanding, an event) that will happen to me, after which I will be magically and permanently transformed.

In looking and listening together, we may discover that the ocean has never been absent, that there is nothing other than the ocean, that the apparent problem was imaginary, that nothing is really broken. We may find that the "me" who seems to be bound or in need of liberation is only a mirage.

I see myself as a friend and fellow-explorer on the pathless path. Within the play of life, we are apparently different waves, different characters, and yet we are all expressions of one seamless ocean. Any exchange between us is a movement of the whole ocean. I don't have anything that you lack.


Practical Stuff:

Currently I am doing hour-long individual meetings (by phone, skype, or in person in Ashland) on a sliding fee scale of $50 to $100 (USD). Email me to learn more or to schedule a meeting. You'll find my email address on the "Contact" page of this website.

Public meetings in Ashland are currently done by donation, with a suggested donation range of $5 to $15 per meeting, but nothing is required. To receive periodic updates about the schedule of Ashland public meetings, ask to be put on my Ashland email list.

Meetings are not intended as a substitute for professional therapy, medical care, or legal advice. Please consult a licensed professional in these 
matters.

Finally, if you'd like to make a contribution to help support the offerings on this website, there is a donation button on the "Contact" page. Donations are always welcome. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and helps to make these writings, meetings, and website offerings possible. Thank you!


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