Gateless Gate

A young woman who had been raised as a Christian was walking along a river with her father. She looked up at him and said, “Father, I can never become a Christian. I cannot believe in God.”

Her father stopped and looked down at her. “I’m not asking you to believe in God,” he said. “I’m asking you to believe in the river.”

The young woman looked at the river and then back at her father. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Watch the river,” he said. “Watch how it flows. It doesn’t care where it’s going. It just flows. It doesn’t try to be anything other than what it is. It just is. And that’s all it needs to be.”

The young woman looked at the river again and then back at her father. She smiled and said, “I think I understand.”

~Zen Story
@GatelessGate

www.tgoop.com/GatelessGate/319

1.3K viewsMar 17, 2023 at 22:48

A young woman who had been raised as a Christian was walking along a river with her father. She looked up at him and said, “Father, I can never become a Christian. I cannot believe in God.”

Her father stopped and looked down at her. “I’m not asking you to believe in God,” he said. “I’m asking you to believe in the river.”

The young woman looked at the river and then back at her father. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Watch the river,” he said. “Watch how it flows. It doesn’t care where it’s going. It just flows. It doesn’t try to be anything other than what it is. It just is. And that’s all it needs to be.”

The young woman looked at the river again and then back at her father. She smiled and said, “I think I understand.”

~Zen Story
@GatelessGate

BY Gateless Gate