Dialogues of Nodin and William
Enlightenment #16
(PD) Albrecht Durer - The Large Piece of Turf
Copyright ©2013-2019 - updated May 11, 2019
The greatest soul,
is not that of the master's,
but of the feeble-bodied,
who enables the master to love.
Nodin: (Nodin is sitting quietly in an open field, the vegetation is sparse, two wild olive trees give little shade, the breeze is slight, the sun warm, the sounds of Nature are gentle.)
William: (William walks with conscious steps into the field, and sits down upon barren soil beside a thicket of grass, about six feet from Nodin.) Nodin.
Nodin: Hello, my old friend; it is pleasing, to have you in my presence, once again. Please, share with me, the pleasure of the day’s warmth, here among the fragrance, of olive flowers.
William: Thank you.
Nodin: (two hours have passed as Nodin and William sit silent in aware meditation) I perceive, that you are learning.
William: Yes, a depth is deepening. Nodin, I had to inquire, among villages throughout the kingdom, to find you. With my now having discovered your location, please, may I ask, why you left?
Nodin: One time ends; another time begins.
William: Has this location, with barren lands, no beauties to the eyes, only a beauty of scent, has it been of a treasure?
Nodin: Yes.
William: My bride, she does not understand.
Nodin: No.
William: She waits.
Nodin: Your union, is not strong.
William: True. Does my heart…; is it so obvious?
Nodin: The scent, radiant, it describes.
William: I have not yet well-learned; my life is in the scent?
Nodin: Yes. There is not a duality; your bond, is not close.
William: True.
Nodin: The bond, if present, would describe both. You remain, alone.
William: True.
Nodin: (a pause of several minutes) Please, speak the question that you carry, the question that rides within your scent.
William: I discovered, the thing. The ingredients were as you said. And now, I believe that I may be far less pleased with myself, than what I was before.
Nodin:
William: My heart cries; I saw the beauty, I experienced that which the ingredients create, and now, now…
Nodin:
William: My love is heightened, my perceptions are widened, and I, am in pain.
Nodin:
William: How do I endure? Intense beauty; I cannot let-go, and yet, I cannot endure.
Nodin: What is the anguish?
William: Of all that I cherish, my pain is for all; I suffer when all suffers.
Nodin: If a blade of grass is broken, what is your reaction?
William: I feel grief, that a thing of beauty, has been harmed.
Nodin: And of the tree, when blossoms fall, what do you feel?
William: I feel grief, that a thing of beauty, has ended.
Nodin: And what of the rocks, the boulders that a man moves, from cliff to valley?
William: I feel disturbed, that the objects are moved from their rightful place.
Nodin: What if the earth should move the rocks?
William: Then I am not as much in anguish; Nature is the mover.
Nodin: So then, the anguish, it arrives from the deeds of man?
William: As well as those of animals’.
Nodin: Then, you care.
William: Yes, deeply; with anguish.
Nodin: Will you give of your time, to be present, so that another might learn?
William: Yes.
Nodin: Your sacrifice, is it worth the cost, so that another might learn?
William: Yes. And, I believe, that I would give all, to help another.
Nodin: Do you rejoice, when another finds, the path?
William: Yes, and, my heart cries for happiness, that I was present, and I observed, another finding happiness.
Nodin: Is the grass separate, not connected to you?
William: No, all things are connected, we share, we are here, together.
Nodin: Is the harm of breaking a blade of grass, is the anguish for the sentients of the blade, or for a disturbance of Nature?
William: Perhaps, both.
Nodin: If the grass were sentient, then might the grass also rejoice, upon it being the vehicle of your own discovery?
William: (long pause) If I am with the heart, to give of myself, to better all else, without concern of myself, then if the grass were sentient, then it too would rejoice when I am bettered. Ah, but now, now my heart hurts more, with the thought that another being would sacrifice itself for me.
Nodin: Then, you have opened the door; observe.
William: The more that I love, the greater the pain, and I am unsure, if I can endure.
Nodin: If a man were to be born, with the love, as you now feel, how might he endure?
William: I feel great tremendous sympathy and compassion for the man, any man, who might suffer so.
Nodin: If the man sacrificed his heart, for you?
William: My tears do not describe the tearing of my heart: I am moved beyond grief; I am not worthy of such a sacrifice.
Nodin: How great then, that the man thought you of value?
William: I could not sustain my life a moment longer, if I knew that such a man sacrificed himself for such an unworthy thing as me. But, the idea is but an idea, and perhaps not a true thing, that a man of love might sacrifice himself for me.
Nodin: Would the act, of the man sacrificing himself, for you, be of a creative behavior?
William: Yes, even if I were to not know of the act, still, the act is beautiful.
Nodin: Then, is not your love for the blade of grass, and your sacrifice to not harm the blade, is it not also beautiful?
William: But, then, that means….
Nodin: (pause) Yes, a beauty has flowered within you: it is a worthy possession.
William: From the point of view, from the blade, I might be as the man who loves. I wish no harm for anyone, or anything; and I am moved, that, perhaps in a small way, it might be said that I am in a manner similar to the man who loves.
Nodin: Your thinness speaks of a hesitance to eat, to cause harm.
William: How can I eat, when it costs the life of that which I eat?
Nodin: Would you not sacrifice your own fruit to feed a man of love?
William: Yes, it would be an honor for the man to find sustenance in my own life.
Nodin: Why then deprive the tree’s fruit its glory?
William: Ah, now that I have placed myself distant from the tree, but placed myself as one with the tree, my viewing from the tree’s view, yes, if I appreciate, give thanks, to the thing that nourishes me, then we all are bettered.
Nodin: In all things, give due appreciation, and gratitude.
William: Thank you Nodin, your words have given me thoughts to ponder. But what of my anguish, will it forever be so? I can now recognize the cycle of Nature, that with proper appreciation it might become acceptable to accept the gifts of Nature, but still, what of the anguish in love, is there no logic that can calm the pain?
Nodin: We have allowed our words to become many, and we are losing touch of the topic at hand. Love, observe, compare, reason. Answers are found, in the experience.
William: True.
Nodin: (long pause within a return to quietude) Your radiance, within it is a variance; you have discovered; you experienced weight.
William: Oh yes, not long ago, I stood upon the scales, and I observed: it was about one stone, almost a tenth of my weight, and it increased and decreased as you described.
Nodin: And what did you conclude?
William: It was an entertaining experience, and I concluded that the myths of levitation might not all be myths, but the experience, it was but a novelty, not of value to the soul, and I have not repeated the experience.
Nodin: Good; wise choice.
William: What then, is my future, what should I expect?
Nodin: That is to become an experience; and to not be learned.
William: Is this not a risky path, to travel upon the faith, without reason, that the destination will be favorable?
Nodin: The path is chosen, the experiences are fulfilled, within the presence of which traits that a man carries.
William: Then my path, is unique, for no two men’s traits can be identical.
Nodin: Yes; we each discover what the other cannot. The glory of the crippled child, and the blade of grass, is the enabling of the experience of love, and compassion. The last becomes first, that which is most important, and appreciated.