Jesus and Buddha just passed by. They were talking of, I don’t know what, but each seemed at home in the other’s company. -This has happened many times on evenings like this, when the summer day seems to reveal the arc of itself, and I perceive the turning just before day turns to night. Then, there is no reluctance, no clinging to the moment before, no rushing after the moment to come. It is easy to see that it is a perfect world and safe, as long as you do not hold onto much.
Walking through the evening light I feel I am beginning to dissolve, when I see God playing a pea and shell game down by the water while Satan stands in front of him, intent.
Quick, quick the little shells twirl under God’s hands.
“He cheats, you know,” mutters Satan. God winks and all of a sudden it does not seem important to know where the pea is. I look away toward the gilded trees and pale water. God winks again: “Very good.”
“Just one more game,” says Satan.
“But you never win,” says God.
“You cheat.”
“How can I cheat if I make the rules? “
They both vanish to continue the game elsewhere.
The golden light fills me just before it will begin to fade, and I realize that I can walk on water. I am made of light; the trees are light. Nothing but light.
I am tempted to walk across the river to the other shore, just to see how it’s done. But I decide to stay where I am; I know now that the other shore, here and there, are the same place, only different. And perhaps God will come by with new tricks after the moon rises. He knows how to find this place now.