I listen to many podcasts and sometimes stumble across one that really resonates with me. The following is one such podcast, from the “Secular Buddhism” podcast. It is based on the poem, “The Empty Boat” by Chuang Tzu.

The “Secular Buddhism” podcast begins each episode saying that you do no need to use this podcast to become a better Buddhist, but to become a better whatever you are. If you are like me and are not practicing Buddhism, this podcast can still be helpful. This is just one episode and I have found others to be helpful as well.

I will let the poem and podcast speak for itself. What I took from it is that life is going to throw at you what it will, and it is up to us to decide how we respond to it.

The following is an excerpt from the poem on which the podcast was based.

“If a man is crossing a river
And an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be a bad-tempered man
He will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again,
And yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because there is somebody in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty.
He would not be shouting, and not angry.”

The Podcast Link. for Spotify.

The Podcast Link from the website.

Other blogs on this website.