THE EMPTY BOAT
THE EMPTY BOAT
I cross the river of the world in a boat I have emptied of myself,
and precisely because I am no longer in it — no one shouts, no one curses,
a man's anger is the most precious thing he owns — a passenger he calls the Self,
and when the boat is empty even the storm passes straight through without touching it.
The straight tree is the first to be cut down — precisely because it is straight and strong and sure,
the clear spring is the first to be drained dry — precisely because its water is pure and sweet,
if you swallow the sun and the moon a light will burn around your head like a curse,
and you will be the first one struck by calamity — precisely because you shine too bright.
Achievement is the beginning of failure — whoever has finished has already begun to fall,
fame is the first step toward disgrace — whoever has climbed the highest has the longest way down,
and the one who is content with himself has done a worthless work without ever knowing it —
the paradox of wisdom is that the truly wise man looks like a fool among fools.
Who can lose himself inside the crowd of men — descending unseen into the Tao —
he flows like life itself through the world with no name, no home, no destination,
simple and without distinction, his steps leave no trace in the wet sand of history,
he achieves nothing — and for that very reason nothing can ever be taken from him.
He judges no one — and for that very reason no one can ever judge him,
his boat is empty and for that very reason it floats lighter than any other boat,
I still carry so many passengers inside me — old angers, names, victories, shames —
and my boat is slowly sinking under the weight of everything I believe I am.
Empty the boat — empty it of yourself — and you will cross the river without getting wet,
you will flow like the Tao through the world — unseen, unstruck, uninterrupted, unquestioned —
the perfect man is the lightest man alive because there is no one left inside him,
and his emptiness alone is the only form of fullness that can never be broken.
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