My Master, Grand Master Nan Lu, told us students during a discussion, if you’re going to catch a fish and throw it back, you then become responsible for its experience.
Once upon a time… there was a fish that saw a hook dangling in front of it with a juicy worm attached. It was so hungry that it bit the worm and got hooked. The fisherman reeled it up above the water’s surface. When the fish rose above the water, it couldn’t believe its eyes. It never knew the world above it existed.
The fish was tiny and quite lucky that the fisherman threw it back into the water. When the little fish got over the shock of almost meeting its demise, it wondered about this above water place it had seen. As he grew, he strengthened his jumping muscles, and practiced jumping above the water. As he would jump up, he would catch little glimpses of the sun, feel the warmth on his scales, and see a little lotus flower that bloomed just above the water.
One day he was able to jump up high enough and stay up long enough that he could say a few words to the lotus bloom, so he asked it a question. “Pretty lotus bloom, can you tell me what it’s like being a lotus who sits above the water all day and night?” The little lotus blooms said, “It’s the same as you swimming around all day and night below the water’s surface.” There’s no difference. But the fish couldn’t understand.
The little fish said, “I wish I could be a lotus bloom like you.” The lotus says, “You are!” Confused, the fish wonders why she would say this. He was clearly not a lotus flower, he was a fish. She says, “Little fish, the moment that fisherman pulled you from the water, you came into my world. But we are from the same place. I once started as a seed, below the water’s surface, and grew to bloom above the water. But ever since the day you discovered this side of the water existed, you’ve jumped up and jumped up and jumped up until you could experience this more and more. So just for a moment, you become like me, the lotus flower, and I like you, the fish. In this moment, we are the same. The Fish and the Lotus.
Moral of the story: When you step outside your comfort zone, even if it makes you nervous, that’s where all the magic happens. You meet people who are just like you, realize your similarities, and become more connected with the people, your community, and the world around you. Yes, we all have a different perspective, but coming together to share that, is the beauty of life.
