Two ducks nestled in lake-side grass.
Both marked by the same brilliant purple at the wing.
Water provides food, bath, and play,
What need do they have for scholarship?
Animals need no schooling. They are perfect, without any need for long instruction. They know what to do by instinct and example. Tao is always there for them. It sustains them and nurtures them. There is no need for them to be specially aware of Tao or to study it : They have no rational consciousness to separate them from Tao.
It is only humanity that constantly divorces itself from Tao. We therefore need methods of reintegration. If we could go beyond the interfering sense of the self, then we would know Tao in as constant and carefree a manner as ducks.
“Forget learning,” say those who follow Tao, but what they don’t append is that you must first have learning before you can forget it. If you would be unencumbered by the weight of knowledge, then you must return to a state of deep intuitiveness. This is not the same as mere selfish behavior — just doing what you feel like doing — because your actions are likely to be dictated more by lusts, obsessions, compulsions, and habits than anything natural. Only through the clarification of spiritual training will you reach the ground of deep intuition and the freedom that it affords.
I learn a lot about life and the Tao from my golden retriever Chance. He is the happiest, most carefree creature I know. He loves everyone, always expects the best from everyone and everything he meets, and enjoys life to the fullest. His atttitude towards life is, “the sun is shining, it’s a beautiful day, let’s go roll in the grass in the sun!” His attitude towards all food is “That was good! What was it? Is there more?”
He’s always there to cheer me up if I’m not feeling well. We take walks together to get exercise. He will lay by my feet for hours at a time, just content to be near me. He never has a negative word to say. What a great companion for life! What a great teacher for life.
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