201 - The Empty Boat

Secular Buddhism

Noah Rasheta

Spirituality, Buddhism, Mindfulness, Society & Culture, Meditation, Secular, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy

4.8 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2025

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, I explore the parable of The Empty Boat and how it serves as a powerful metaphor for understanding the way we react to life’s inevitable bumps (especially those caused by others). Drawing from Taoist and Zen traditions, this story reminds us that much of our suffering arises not from what happens, but from the meaning we attach to it.

We’ll look at what it means to take things personally, why we often assume intent where there may be none, and how mindfulness helps us shift from reactivity to response. I also share personal reflections, real-life examples, and variations on the parable to help bring this teaching into everyday life.

Whether you’ve been bumped recently or you’ve unknowingly bumped into others, this episode offers a gentle invitation to pause, reflect, and respond with more awareness and compassion.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, you're listening to the Secular Buddhism podcast.
0:12.9	This is episode number 201.
0:15.9	I am your host, Noah Rochetta.
0:18.2	And today I'm talking about The Empty empty boat, a story or parable that offers
0:23.4	insights into how we respond when we get bumped or jostled along life's journey. As always,
0:30.1	keep in mind you don't need to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist. You can use what
0:34.9	you learn to be a better whatever you already are.
0:38.3	Buddhist teachings and concepts often challenge us to think differently about life.
0:43.3	They invite us to question the stories that we've come to believe about ourselves and about reality.
0:50.3	The Parable of the Empty Boat certainly does this for me, and I hope by the end of this episode
0:55.3	it might do the same for you.
0:59.2	This parable originally comes from Taoist writings, but it has made its way into Zen Buddhism
1:05.3	with various iterations.
1:07.6	The Taoist version tells of a fisherman out on the water at dusk where visibility is low.
1:14.1	He sees a boat coming toward him and starts panicking, yelling at the other boat to veer off or turn away.
1:21.2	The other boat keeps coming until it bumps into his boat.
1:24.7	At this point, the fisherman becomes extremely upset and starts yelling at the other person, only to realize there's no one in his boat. At this point, the fisherman becomes extremely upset and starts yelling at the other
1:28.9	person, only to realize there's no one in the other boat. The boat was empty. In the Zen tradition,
1:36.7	another version involves a monk who takes a boat out to the middle of a pond to meditate.
1:43.2	After hours of peaceful meditation, eyes closed,
1:47.2	he feels the jarring blow of another boat bumping into his. Immediately anger arises,
1:53.8	but when he opens his eyes, he realizes there's no one in the other boat. Perhaps it had
	...

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