Meeting Up

In a secluded part of the forest, a female monk sat beside a gentle stream, her eyes closed in deep meditation. The water flowed quietly, and the sounds of birds and rustling leaves created a harmony that seemed to blend into her silent practice.

One day, a traveler passing through stopped and saw her sitting there. Curious about the monk's practice, he approached and asked, "How do you find such stillness in the midst of all this movement? The stream flows, the birds sing, the leaves sway in the wind. Yet you sit as if the world has stopped."

The monk opened her eyes and looked at the traveler. She pointed to the stream and asked, "Do you see the water flowing?" The traveler nodded.

She then pointed to the birds in the trees and asked, "Do you hear the birds singing?" The traveler nodded again.

Finally, she pointed to her own heart and asked, "Do you see the stillness here?" The traveler hesitated, uncertain.

The monk smiled and said, "When the stream flows, I am the stream. When the birds sing, I am the birds. When the leaves sway, I am the wind. And when I find stillness, I am all things. What moves, and what is still?"

The traveler left with a bow, pondering her words. What is the source of movement? What is the source of stillness? And where do they meet?