Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘A fish swims in the ocean, and no matter how far it swims there is no end to the water. A bird flies in the sky, and no matter how far it flies, there is no end to the air. However, the fish and the bird have never left their elements. When their activity is large their field is large. When their need is small their field is small. Thus, each of them totally covers its full range, and each of them totally experiences its· realm. If the bird leaves the air it will die at once. If the fish leaves the water it will die at once. Know that water is life and air is life. The bird is life and the fish is life. Life must be the bird and life must be the fish.’ (Genjo Koan)

I have a lot of love for this passage, and the rest of the Genjo Koan, and could rattle on about it at great length, but this is really an excuse to offer this link, which a friend shared with me last year. The osprey are back for the summer, and I find this a wonderfully restful thing to watch – and listen to, with all the bird songs in the background.