Daily Meditation: Tuesday, September 5, 2006

One beautiful, starry night, a fisherman was ferrying a …

09/05/2006

One beautiful, starry night, a fisherman was ferrying a scholar in his boat. The scholar was gazing at the constellations and suddenly asked the fisherman: ‘Do you know anything about astronomy?’ ‘No,’ he replied. ‘Then, my poor chap,’ said the scholar, ‘you have lost a quarter of your life. Do you know anything about physics?’ ‘No, nothing.’ ‘Well, you have lost two quarters of your life. But perhaps you know something of chemistry?’ ‘Absolutely nothing, I’ve never heard of it.’ ‘What ignorance! You have lost three quarters of your life.’ Meanwhile, the sky had begun to cloud over. Suddenly a storm broke, the sea grew increasingly turbulent and a gale threatened. ‘Do you know how to swim, Mr. Scholar?’ asked the fisherman. ‘No, I don’t.’ ‘Well then, you are about to lose four quarters of your life!’ If we are to navigate this ocean of life, certain kinds of knowledge are far more useful than others, and even indispensable: knowledge that helps us ‘swim’ so that we emerge from storms and tempests safe and sound.