I was walking the Don Trail today and stopped at this stream and it reminded me of a popular kids nursery rhyme, and a recent Dharma talk given by Bishop Tatsuya Aoki. Bishop Aoki is a Minister at the Jodo Shinshu Temple in Vancouver, BC.
Most people are familiar with Row, row, row your boat, and if you’re not, it goes like this;
Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.
In Zen Buddhism, it is a popular parable to explain how we should live our life and can be used as a guide to awakening.
The meaning I took from Bishop Aoki’s Dharma talk, and from reading the rhyme, is in modern society we are conditioned to believe that working hard, being in control, and struggling was part of life, and if you did this, it would lead to happiness and success. When I was attending university and later in my working career this is what I believed and did.
In many Buddhist books, it was said that the Buddha put his begging bowl in the current of a river and watched it float upstream against the flow of water. Astonishingly, when this happened it became an indication to him he was on the right path even though he was going against the beliefs of society.
I suppose you can read various different meanings to this rhyme. For myself, I do believe it is important for a person to be in control of their life, to be the ‘rower’ or ‘leader’ of their own boat. Although, it can seem easy to follow the stream of life set out by society, sometimes that is not the gentler way to live. You can choose to go against the stream of society and follow the stream of nature. Following the stream of nature can lead you to calm and gentle waters, it may not be easy to get there, but it does exist, and it is where, I believe, you will find glimpses of enlightenment or be awakened.
Rev. Aoki also pointed out that in the rhyme they emphasized the word ‘merrily’ four times, so it must have been an important point and an indication of how important it is to have fun.
And finally, ‘Life is but a dream’ talks about impermanence and how things are always changing so make sure you enjoy life everyday.
Namaste