Taoism, Chan Buddhism and Fiction: Between Rotifers and Plesiosaurs
My short story: Musings on existence while swimming in deeper waters
I wove this story while exploring some of the fundamental texts of Chan Buddhism and Taoism. I was guided by the Xīnxīnmíng, the Wúxìnglùn as well as the concept of "Shinjin Datsuraku" (abandoning body-mind) by Dōgen, magnificently translated by Aldo Tollini in "Alla ricerca della mente" ["In Search of the Mind"] (Astrolabio Ubaldini Editore, 2021), together with the Tao Te Ching in the refined translation by Tomassini (UTET, 1977) and Yijing Una guida ["Yijing A Guide"] – by Joseph A. Adler – Translation by Jessica Matarrese (Astrolabio Ubaldini Editore, 2023).
I allowed myself the license to place a rotifer in a marine environment, transferring its extraordinary capability for cryptobiosis from freshwater to the ocean to serve as the central metaphor of my writing.
"Maria Lisboa" by Mariza slipped in, like a breath. A fragment of fado that I don't know why, but it was there while I was writing. Like when a memory passes through you without asking permission.
Enjoy reading!
"The Indistinct"
"Nella dimensione della verità non esistono né io né altro".
["In the dimension of truth, there exists neither I nor other."] "
Ciò che è molto grande è come ciò che è piccolo, poiché non se ne vedono i reciproci confini."
["What is very large is like what is small, as their mutual boundaries cannot be seen."]
The ocean's surface reflected the sunset like a shattered mirror, shards of copper and gold dancing on the water. The plesiosaur raised its long neck, creating concentric circles that slowly widened. "I still don't understand," it said, its voice a low rumble that vibrated through the water. "How can we be equal, my friend? You are so small that I must carry you on my fin to speak with you."
The rotifer, an almost invisible particle on the silver scale of the plesiosaur, vibrated its cilia in what could be interpreted as laughter. "Yet," it responded its vibrations perceived rather than heard, "we both swim in the same ocean, breathe the same water, observe the same sun. The boundaries you see are only illusions of perspective." The plesiosaur tilted its head, its enormous eye gleaming with curiosity. "But I can swim for days without tiring. You exhaust yourself in a few blinks of an eye." "When the water vanishes," explained the rotifer, "I enter cryptobiosis. My body contracts, I dehydrate, I become like dust. Neither alive nor dead." The plesiosaur blinked, amazed. "You become... nothing?" "I become everything," corrected the rotifer. "Body and mind fall away.
There is no longer a distinction between me and what surrounds me. It is not annihilation, but an awakening to the true nature of existence. When the barriers of the self dissolve, what remains is undivided reality. Thus, in apparent disappearance, I find myself everywhere." The plesiosaur tilted its head, trying to understand. "But aren't you afraid of losing yourself?" "There is nothing to lose," replied the rotifer. "Only illusions to abandon. In letting the limited self fall away, I discover the unlimited. This is the true strength that allows me to traverse time."
An unusual glow illuminated the sky at the horizon, tinting the clouds an unnatural orange. Both looked toward the growing light. "There's something strange in the sky tonight," murmured the plesiosaur. "It has arrived," the rotifer said simply. "What has arrived?" "The change," replied the rotifer. "The hot stone that will fall from the sky. The end of your world, a pause in mine." The plesiosaur stirred, the water rippling around its massive body. "Should we hide in the depths?"
"We will follow the transformation, as the ancient wisdom teaches us: from the harmony of opposites emerges the eternal cycle where after the Completed Order ䷾ comes the Not Yet Completed ䷿. In this passage, what reaches completion dissolves to give birth to the new. We will shed this form, to return when the time is ripe."
The rotifer slid from the plesiosaur's fin, falling toward a pool on the shore. The great sauropterygian dived with a mighty flap of its tail, seeking refuge in the abyss. The tiny organism, sensing the water evaporating from the increasing heat, began its ancient cellular dance.
Contraction. Dehydration. Suspension.
"Il molle supera il duro, il debole trionfa sul forte,"
["The soft overcomes the hard, the weak triumphs over the strong,"]
were its last vibrations before becoming a particle of dust, a silent custodian of life waiting for awakening in dawn yet to be dreamed.
Feel free to leave a comment.
I have woven tales for anyone who cares to read them. My books await you on Google Books.
Feel free to contact me.
I would be honoured if you considered subscribing to the Premium Contents of my Vedanta Substack and leaving feedback, comments, and suggestions on this page and by writing to me at cosmicdancerpodcast@gmail.com.
Visit my BuyMeACoffee page.
Thanks for reading.