The Gospel of the Floating Log (Circa Now)
Attributed to: Jesus the Zennist Theme: The Fluidity of Faith and the Myth of the "Other Shore"
(The congregation sits in silence. The sound of a single drop of water hitting a basin echoes. Jesus speaks, his voice calm, carrying the resonance of the mountain and the intimacy of a whisper.)
Beloved friends, you who are the salt of the earth, and you who are the light of the world:
We gather here in the "Circa." We gather "around" the truth, "approximately" in the presence of God. And I tell you, this is the only place where life actually happens. We are obsessed with the exact destination—the bullseye of righteousness, the finality of success. But look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap. They do not fly in straight lines; they ride the wind. They live in the Circa.
You have heard it said that you must be perfect, that you must have a definitive answer for every ache in your soul. But I say to you: The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. When you demand that this moment be exactly what you want it to be, you are fighting the wind. You are drowning in the very water that was meant to carry you.
Let us listen to the text brought before us today, regarding the great Crossing.
"The religions born in India share a common symbol of salvation as crossing the waters. The waters represent the painful existence in the world... Tossed about on the turbulent sea, the wayfarer finds rest only on the other shore... In the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, crossing the waters is also a symbol of salvation... crossing the Red Sea... and later crossing the Jordan River to reach the promised land."
The Illusion of the "Other Shore"
My friends, we are all exhausted swimmers. We look at the turbulent waters of our lives—our debts, our broken relationships, our anxieties about tomorrow—and we label them "Samsara." We label them "The Wilderness." We tell ourselves, "If I can just get to the other side, if I can just get that promotion, if I can just fix this marriage, then I will be on the 'Other Shore' of Nirvana or the Promised Land."
We treat the water as an enemy. We treat the present moment as an obstacle to be overcome.
But consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. Do they strain to reach the other side of the garden? No. They float in the breeze. Make the smallest distinction, however, and you are as far from it as heaven is from earth. When you distinguish between "here" (bad water) and "there" (good land), you create your own drowning.
The teaching of the Buddha, that great awakened one who walked the dust of India, speaks of the Raft. He taught that the Dharma—the truth—is like a raft used to cross a dangerous river. But he also taught this: once you cross the river, you do not pick up the raft and carry it on your back. You leave it. The raft is for the water, not the land.
Many of you are carrying rafts on your backs on dry land! You are carrying the heavy doctrines, the rigid rules, the "vain repetitions" of prayers thinking they will save you. To return to the root is to find the essence, but to pursue appearances is to miss the Source. You are obsessed with the vehicle of salvation, forgetting that the goal is simply to be free.
And let us look to my own heritage, the Hebrew Tradition. Remember the Red Sea. When Moses stretched out his hand, the waters did not vanish. They parted. The salvation was not a bridge over the water; it was a path through the chaos. The walls of water stood on the left and the right. The danger was "circa"—it was all around them. The miracle wasn't the absence of danger; it was the presence of a path within it.
In both traditions, the Water is the great tester. But I bring you a new commandment, a Zennist fulfillment: Do not search for the truth; only cease to cherish opinions.
If you have an opinion that "Water is bad" and "Land is good," you suffer. If you have an opinion that "Peace is over there" and "Chaos is here," you suffer.
The moment you are enlightened, you go beyond appearances and emptiness. You realize that the water is the path. You realize that "Samsara" (the struggle) and "Nirvana" (the peace) are not two. One thing and everything move among and intermingle without distinction.
The "Circa" of the Heart
Why do you worry about tomorrow? Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. This is the "Circa" life. It means being fully present with the trouble of today, without adding the weight of tomorrow.
When you are angry with your brother, you are drowning. You have heard it said, "You shall not murder". That is a rule for the land. But I say to you, living in the water of the heart: Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.
Why? Because anger is a rigid preference. Anger says, "You should be different." Anger fights the reality of who your brother is. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him. Be fluid. Be like water. If you resist an evil person with rigidity, you break. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. This is not weakness; this is the strength of the tide. You cannot slap a wave; it simply absorbs the blow and keeps moving.
You want to build your house on a rock. Good. But do not think the rock is a dogma. The Rock is the realization of Non-Duality. It is the realization that In this world of "as it really is" there is neither self nor other. When there is no "other," who is there to fight? Who is there to cross the water to get away from?
Application: The Rising Tides of Our World
We look at the news this past week. We see the literal rising of waters in the catastrophic floods devastating communities, and we see the metaphorical rising waters of political polarization and war. The levees of our old securities are breaking.
Just this week, we have seen leaders and nations arguing over treaties, over boundaries, over who owns the land and who controls the sea. It is a fever of "Mine" and "Yours." It is the madness of the dualistic mind. The arising of other gives rise to self; giving rise to self generates other. As long as nations cling to the "Self," they will create the "Enemy," and the waters of war will never recede.
And in your own homes, perhaps around a table this week, you felt the tension. You felt the rising water of an argument with a family member who voted differently, who thinks differently. You wanted to "fix" them. You wanted to drag them to your "shore."
Here is the Zennist application for the floodwaters of this week: Stop paddling upstream.
I do not mean give up on justice. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. But righteousness is not self-righteousness. Righteousness is flow.
If you are in a conflict this week, Cease all thinking, and there is nothing that will not be revealed to you. Stop rehearsing your argument. Stop planning your defense. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
When you sit across from your adversary—whether it is a relative or a terrifying diagnosis—drop the preference for it to be otherwise. Enter the "Circa." Say to yourself: "I am here. This is the water. I will float."
If someone compels you to go one mile, go with him two. If the flood forces you to move, move. Do not stand like a rigid wall that will be toppled. Be the water that flows around the obstacle. The wise attaches to no goals, but the foolish fetter themselves.
The Narrow Gate of Now
My friends, the gate is narrow. But it is not narrow because it is exclusive. It is narrow because it is Now. The past is a wide, vast memory. The future is a wide, vast fantasy. But the reality of God is a razor's edge of this very breath.
Enter by the narrow gate. Squeeze through the "Circa." Let go of the baggage of "I was" and the anxiety of "I will be."
The Truth is beyond time and space, one instant is eternity.
You are not crossing to the other shore. You are already there. The Kingdom of Heaven is not a destination on a map; it is the quality of your swimming. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. To be pure in heart is to have a heart with no preferences, a heart that floats, a heart that knows that even in the middle of the deepest sea, you are held.
Not here, not there—but everywhere always right before your eyes.
Go in peace. Be the water. Be the salt. And remember: You cannot serve God and mammon, and you cannot serve Reality and your Opinions. Drop the opinions. Inherit the earth.
Amen.