sphere of interpretation

Part Two: To remedy this and remind myself that I’m living in a sphere ..I subscribe to the empty rowboat theory of Buddhism. It’s comes in a parable that goes something like this: 

“Imagine we are out on a lake and it’s a bit foggy ..not too foggy, but just a bit foggy. We are rowing along in our little boat having a good time. And then, all of a sudden, coming out of the fog, there’s this other rowboat and it’s heading right at us. And ..crash! For an instant we’re alarmed ..then we get really angry – what is that fool doing ? I just painted my boat! And here he comes – crash! – right into it. And then suddenly we notice that the rowboat is empty. What happens to our anger? It collapses. I’ll just have to paint my boat again, that’s all. But if that rowboat that hit ours had another person in it, how would we react?” 

Now they say the same holds true for everyday encounters with people and events. It’s like being bumped by an empty rowboat. But I don’t experience life that way. I experience it as though there are people in that other rowboat who are out to get me. I’m seeing things through a sphere of interpretation. Since I rarely catch a glimpse of events as they occur .. I populate them with people and beliefs from my own experience. Now I’m not saying I take a Pollyanna approach to all such encounters. However, reminding myself of the empty rowboat theory is part of a practice that I find useful in tuning down some of the buzz that goes on inside the sphere where I live.