Stories, Parables, Moral Lessons

There was once a stubborn donkey that had fallen into a well. Deeply surrounded by the well, and outwardly, by all creation itself. The farmer and his friends tried to rescue that donkey by throwing dirt into the well, and the donkey just stayed in the center, shaking off that dirt, and stepping on top of each new shovelful, surfing that change, With each new presentation, the donkey remained at the center of the well. For the donkey it was easy. It had the walls of the well as references, so could easily surf and abide in the place of the center. The donkey just stayed in the well, while the world changed around him. Resting evenly at the place landmarked as center. Easily landmarked as at the center by the steadiness and dependability of those walls of the well. For the donkey, its place was easy to know, to find and to abide in. People threw in the dirt, and the dirt level rose and rose, but the exact center location of the heart of the donkey relative to the vertical axis center of that well, remained unchanged. As shovelful, after shovelful, of each new, arriving presentation of dirt arose, and as the donkey, just surfed his central location, restfully surfed it, exactly between the sampled borders of the walls of the well. Until finally the donkey, still resting in the middle of all arriving change, was standing out of the well, then high upon the earth above the well, then on the top of a mountain. And through it all, the donkey never really went anywhere, though the world about him changed. And that is how we surf the place between opposites. A place that is not different than the center of the well, and easily found between the walls of appearances. And also that is not different than the top of the mountain. And all that is outward from that place is all that is outward from your place, whether in a well, or on a mountain, and all the comings and goings of creation and life around you, with all its presentations. All the changes, from the arrival of dirt at the bottom of the well, to standing on the top of the mountain are what you timelessly, changelessly surf, from the ground zero of your own existence. The changeless place of abiding, in the middle. Not distant from the exact place where you are. Comfortably resting, evenly, while surrounded by changing creation on all sides. Whether the sweet spot in the well or the sweet spot on the mountain, both are made sweet because it is the place where you are. You, the place of your existence itself, is the sweet spot. And remove the sandals from your feet, because the place where YOU stand is holy ground. And though not a well, there is a way to use the human frame to set up the equivalent of an old-fashioned scale, and gathering two or more points, to abide in, and know what is in the midst of them. When you learn to practice in this way, you will be like the donkey in the well. But it's not really a well, it is the endless variety of creation all around you. Yes even the features of the mountain can continue moving and changing, and you can still rest steadily, ever at the sweet spot, in the steady, changeless place, at the Heart of creation. This article explains the actual technique of how it is done: How To Surf Or Skateboard Without A Board: (The Spiritual Exercises). https://youtu.be/3yn9JIWSUhU The Farmer And The Donkey In The Well Story, Parable, Moral, And Lesson. By Preston Flatt