Story for all ages — The Quail and the Bird Called P’eng
Many years ago in ancient China, the Emperor T’ang was speaking with a wise man named Ch’i.
Ch’i was telling the Emperor about the wonders of far off and distant places. Ch’i said:
“If you go far, far to the north, beyond the middle kingdom of China, beyond the lands where our laughing black-haired people live, you will come to the lands where the snow lies on the ground for nine months a year, and where the people speak a barbaric language and eat strange foods.
“And if you travel even farther to the north, you will come to a land where the snow and ice never melts, not even in the summer. In that land, night never comes in the summer time, but in the winter, the sun never appears and the night lasts for months at a time.
“And if you go still farther to the north, beyond the barren land of ice and snow, you will come to a vast, dark sea. This sea is called the Lake of Heaven. Many marvelous things live in the Lake of Heaven. They say there is a fish called K’un. The fish K’un is thousands of miles wide, and who knows how many miles long.”
“A fish that is thousands of miles long?” said the Emperor. “How amazing!”
“It is even more amazing than it seems at first,” said Ch’i. “For this giant fish can change shape and become a bird called P’eng. This bird is enormous. When it spreads its wings, it is as if clouds cover the sky. Its back is like a huge mountain. When it flaps its wings, typhoons spread out across the vast face of the Lake of Heaven for thousands of miles. The wind from P’eng’s wings lasts for six months. P’eng rises up off the surface of the water, sweeping up into the blue sky. The giant bird wonders, ‘Is blue the real color of the sky, or is the sky blue because it goes on forever?’ And when P’eng looks down, all it sees is blue sky below, with the wind piled beneath him.”
***
A little gray dove and a little insect, a cicada, sat on the tree and listened to Ch’i tell the Emperor about the bird P’eng. They looked at each other and laughed quietly. The cicada said quietly to the dove, “If we’re lucky, sometimes we can fly up to the top of that tall tree over there. But lots of times, we don’t even make it that high up.”
“Yes,” said the little dove. “If we can’t even make it to the top of the tree, how on earth can that bird P’eng fly that high up in the sky? No one can fly that high.”
***
Ch’i continued to describe the giant bird P’eng to the Emperor. “Flapping its wings, the bird wheels in flight,” said Ch’i, “and it turns south, flying across the thousands of miles of the vastness of the Lake of Heaven, across the oceans of the Middle Kingdom, heading many thousands of miles towards the great Darkness of the South.”
***
A quail sat quietly in a bush beside the Emperor and Ch’i. “The bird P’eng can fly all those thousands of miles from the Lake of Heaven in the north across the Middle Kingdom, and into the vast ocean in the south?” said the quail to himself. “Well, I burst up out of the bushes into flight, fly a dozen yards, I set back down into the bushes again. That’s the best kind of flying. Who cares if some big bird flies ninety thousand miles?”
***
The Emperor listened to Ch’i, and said, “Do up and down ever have an end? Do the four directions ever come to an end?”
“Up and down never come to an end,” said Ch’i. “The four directions never come to an end.
“That is the difference between a small understanding and a great understanding,” Ch’i continued. “If you have a small understanding, you might think the top of that tree is as high up as you can go. If you have a small understanding, you might think that flying to that bush over there is as far as you can go in that direction. But even beyond the point where up and down and the four directions are without end, there is no end.”
***
But the quail did not hear, for she had flown a dozen yards away in the bushes. The cicada did not hear because it was trying to fly to the top of a tree. And the little dove did not hear because he had tucked his head under his wing and fallen asleep.
Readings
I have one reading, on the importance of asking questions, but first I’ll start with a few words about what a “Question and Response Sermon” might be.
In our religious tradition, what holds us together is not a creed, but a covenant, a set of promises that we make to one another. In other words, our religious tradition emphasizes relationship, not belief.
This state of affairs is confusing to some people — How, they ask, can you have a religion if you don’t believe in anything? Well, we think it’s better to concentrate on the promises that hold us together, rather than some abstract beliefs. More to the point, of course we do believe in things — life and love and the power of truth. But I’d also say we believe in the power of questions. And when the glue that holds us together is relationships, we are freed to ask difficult and interesting questions; and the responses to those questions often lead us to engage in further questioning together.
My sermons are usually written in response to something someone in this congregation has said to me. But in a question-and-response sermon, the relationship is a little more direct. You ask the questions, and I respond to them right here and now; I won’t say I answer your questions, I respond to them. And then I file all these questions away, and they’ll influence my sermons for the next year — even if I don’t get to respond to all your questions this morning, you can bet I’ll refer to them over the next twelve months as I plan out and write sermons.
Now for the reading on the importance of questions. This is from one of Mark Twain’s speeches, given at a 1909 banquet honoring one of his friends, Mr. H. H. Rogers. I should tell you that at the time of this speech, a half crown would have been worth about sixty cents. Mark Twain said:
“[Others have said] Mr. Rogers is full of practical wisdom, and he is. It is intimated here that he is a very ingenious man, and he is a very competent financier. Maybe he is now, but it was not always so. I know lots of private things in his life which people don’t know, and I know how he started; and it was not a very good start. I could have done better myself. The first time he crossed the Atlantic he had just made the first little strike in oil, and he was so young he did not like to ask questions. He did not like to appear ignorant…. On board the ship they were betting on the run of the ship, betting a couple of shillings, or half a crown, and they proposed that this youth from the oil regions should bet on the run of the ship. He did not like to ask what a half-crown was, and he didn’t know; but rather than be ashamed of himself he did bet half a crown on the run of the ship, and in bed he could not sleep. He wondered if he could afford that outlay in case he lost. He kept wondering over it, and said to himself: ‘A king’s crown must be worth $20,000, so half a crown would cost $10,000.’ He could not afford to bet away $10,000 on the run of the ship, so he went up to the stakeholder and gave him $150 to let him off.”
Thus ends Mark Twain’s thoughts on the importance of asking questions.
*****
From the First Unitarian newsletter — The “Question and Response Sermon”
On June 4, I gave a “question and response sermon.” Everyone who was in church that Sunday had a chance to write a question on a piece of paper, and during the sermon time, I responded to as many of the questions as we had time for. But I only had time to respond to less than half the questions. The questions were so thoughtful and interesting that I thought I’d give written responses to the rest of them in the newsletter…. –Dan Harper
*****
Question: Is the Unitarian Universalist denomination changing so that more Unitarian Universalists believe in God and are seeking spiritual fulfillment?
My response: According to a recent survey by the Commission on Appraisal of the Unitarian Universalist Association, “there has been a shift in Unitarian Universalism away from a humanist center to a more eclectic mix of philosophies or theologies.” Does that mean that more Unitarian Universalists believe in God? Well, it all depends on what you mean when you say “God.” If you mean a traditional conception of God, then I don’t believe that any more Unitarian Universalists believe in God now as compared to twenty years ago; if you mean “God” in the broadest possible sense as something transcending humanity, then yes I think more Unitarian Universalists believe in God now.
However, I would not connect a belief in God and the search for spiritual fulfillment. I know plenty of atheists and humanists who seek spiritual fulfillment without any need for belief in God.
Question: Do Unitarian Universalists have any belief in an afterlife? i.e., heaven? reincarnation? Is it left up to us to decide what we believe?
My response: Yes, many Unitarian Universalists do believe in an afterlife, and a smaller number believe in reincarnation. Many Unitarian Universalists don’t believe in an afterlife. And there are a fair number of Unitarian Universalists like me who just don’t worry about the whole issue one way or another. Generally speaking, the question of an afterlife is less important to us than the question of how we can bring about justice and peace in the present world.
Yes, it is left up to each individual to decide what he or she believes on this point. Yet there are limits to what you can believe about an afterlife, and still feel comfortable within Unitarian Universalism. I don’t know any Unitarian Universalists who believe in the idea of eternal punishment, probably because our Universalist tradition was founded around the notion that since God is love, God would not condemn anyone to an eternity of suffering.
Question: Connection between the local, national, and international Unitarian Universalist church organizations.
My response: Our local church is our ultimate religious authority. We have the power to make all significant decisions regarding our religious life together. However, we are in a covenanted relationship with a thousand other Unitarian Universalist congregations across the United States, meaning that our congregations promise to provide mutual support and guidance to each other. Each year, representatives from local congregations gather in late June at General Assembly to set policy for the national organization (I’ll be the voting representative for our church at General Assembly this year, although we could have had two other delegates as well).
Internationally, Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist churches in various countries around the world are loosely organized through the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (www.icuu.net/). The various national organizations are all organized quite differently: Unitarians in Hungary and Romania have bishops; Universalists in the Philippines are organized as one big congregation with outposts scattered here and there; Unitarian Universalists in South America are just beginning to get organized.
Question: Spark of life — divine or chemical reaction?
My response: Both, in my opinion. But we could have a long discussion about what we mean by “divine” in this context. I mean it in the sense that it is something that is not quite comprehensible to us (and I’d argue on the basis of Godel’s Incompleteness Theorem that there’s a good chance that the “spark of life” must always remain an unexplained axiom from within the context of our consciousness).
Question: If Unitarian Universalism accepts all, regardless of beliefs, then why call it a religion at all? Similarly, Unitarian Universalism stresses acceptance of all people and beliefs, but to what extent? Critical thinking has its role in living a productive life, i.e. making good choices. If we don’t accept all beliefs/lifestyles, does this make us less “evolved”?
My response: First of all, I don’t believe we accept all, regardless of belief. For example, I would find it difficult to accept someone who believes it is good to exploit other human beings; I would find it difficult to believe in the necessity of live animal sacrifices; and I would find it difficult to accept someone who believes in a vengeful God who gives us permission to hurt other human beings. I’m sure you could come up with your own examples.
So we don’t accept all beliefs, but I don’t believe this makes us any more or less “evolved.” I’m not sure I would apply the concept of evolution to religious beliefs. When someone starts claiming that their religion is more evolved than another religion, that can lead to things like religious persecution and religious wars.
Probably the most important thing to remember in this context is that we Unitarian Universalists are not organized around beliefs. We are organized around our covenant with one another. A covenant is a set of promises that we make to each other. These promises set forth our ideal of what it means to live in human community. One of our fundamental assumptions is that no one person can figure out how to live a good and moral and productive life alone. That only happens within the context of a community.
Question: What is CUUPS?
My response: CUUPS is an affiliate organization of our church, and it stands for Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans. Learn more from their Web site at www.cuups.org. If you want to know about our affiliated CUUPS chapter, talk with Niko Tarini, who is a member of First Unitarian and a member of the CUUPS chapter.
There are also nation-wide groups for Unitarian Universalists who identify with the following spiritual paths: humanism, Christianity, Universalism, Judaism, and Buddhism. If you have an interest in any of these other groups, let me know, and I’ll get you contact information.
Question: Do fish know they’re in water?
My response: In the book One Hand Clapping: Zen Stories for All Ages, Rafe Martin recounts the following Zen Story:
“Once upon a time a baby fish asked an older, larger fish about the sea.
” ‘What is the sea,’ he asked. ‘I keep hearing about it, but I don’t know what it is.’
” ‘Why the sea is all around you, little one,’ said the grown-up fish.
” ‘If that’s so, why can’t I se it?’ asked the young fish.
” ‘Because it is everywhere. It surrounds you. It’s inside and outside you. You were born in the sea and you will die in the sea. What’s more, you yourself are the life of the sea…. It’s just because it’s so close to you that it’s very hard to see.'”
Question: Could you do a pagan ritual at one of your services?
My response: I do not feel I personally am qualified to lead a pagan ritual — I know how to lead Unitarian Universalist worship, but I just don’t enough to be able to worship in any other religious tradition. However, I will pass this suggestion on to the Religious Services Committee, and see if they would like to find someone to take this on.
You should also know that our CUUPS chapter has regular pagan rituals — see the church calendar for dates.
Question: Could you speak on grief and using our spirituality to help us through our loss?
My response: This is a big topic, and I will plan to do at least one sermon next year on this topic. I also try to address the topic of grief each year on the Sunday just before Memorial Day.
But here’s a brief response: Yes, I feel that religion and spirituality can help us in times of grief and loss. For me, the difference between religion and spirituality is that religion always takes place in community, whereas spirituality tends to be more personal and private. Religious communities can help us deal with grief by offering a supportive community of caring people. Personal spirituality can help in a different way. Whatever personal spiritual practice you follow — meditation, prayer, etc. — can calm and heal you from the inside.
Of course, you can always make an appointment with me to come into the office and talk about issues around grief and loss.
Question: Do you believe in life after death? Please don’t say we live on in people’s minds. True, but not true enough for me.
My response: I have to say this is not something I think about much one way or another. I find that I am so focused on bringing about a heaven on earth here and now, that I don’t have any much energy left over to worry about what happens after death. I suspect that this won’t be a satisfactory answer for many of you, but I’m being as honest as I can.
Going beyond my personal beliefs, the question of life after death is a very big question indeed. I’ll try to work this question into a number of sermons in the coming year.
Question: What is your belief in karmic retribution?
My response: In my own life, I have not found karmic retribution to hold true. Sometimes bad things happen for no apparent reason. Perhaps if I could see a bigger picture somehow, I would see that that karmic retribution does hold true. And I certainly have the greatest respect for those world religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, that set forth doctrines of karma. It’s just that I haven’t found it to be true in my own life.
Question:What is the relationship between Unitarian Universalism and the Baha’i faith?
My response: It is a relationship of mutual respect, and I think there’s a mutual recognition that each is a liberal religion. However, there are substantial differences. The Baha’i faith does claim to have ultimate answers in a way that Unitarian Universalism does not, and the Baha’i faith came out of Islam whereas we have come out of Christianity.
Question: How can we use religion as a means to inclusion and unity among people, instead of using faith to divide us?
My response: Good question. I wish I had an answer to this problem. Instead of an answer, I have a possible response.
Carole Fontaine, a professor at Andover Newton Theological School and a Unitarian Universalist, has proposed that we Unitarian Universalists are well-placed to further human rights work in the world. As it stand right now, there are two main camps of human rights workers: there are those who support human rights on the basis of religious belief, and there are those who support human rights on the basis of natural law that has nothing to do with religion. At present, these two groups don’t work much together because of their differing attitudes towards religion. Yet if they combined their efforts, it seems obvious that there would be much more progress made towards human rights. Carole Fontaine proposes that Unitarian Universalists already know how to facilitate dialogue between atheists and theists (after all, we do it all the time in our local churches). So we could make a major contribution to human rights work by helping these two different groups talk to one another, and learn how to work with one another.
This might serve as a model for how Unitarian Universalists could promote inclusion and unity among people, by facilitating inter-religious dialogue, and dialogue between religious and non-religious groups.
Question: Is there any guilt involved with Unitarian Universalist beliefs (other than not coming to church)?
My response: Since beliefs are not particularly important to us, I don’t see how there can be any guilt involved with our beliefs. Unitarian Universalist guilt comes about when we violate the terms of our covenants with one another. Covenants are the promises we make to one another about how we promise to be in relationship, and how we promise to maintain our religious community. That’s why there’s Unitarian Universalist guilt when you don’t come to church — the guilt arise, not because you’ve violated some belief, but because in a very small way you have broken the covenant you have made with this religious community.
I should add that when you miss church because of health problems or family obligations, there’s no violation of the covenant and therefore no guilt. In fact, if you miss church because of health problems or family obligations, and no one from church calls you to find out where you’ve been, then it’s the church community who has broken (in a small way) the covenant with you. The obvious conclusion is that if you don’t see someone at church for a few weeks, you should call them and make sure they’re OK.
Question: Prayer — why? I can’t visualize that there is any one hearing or any reason to think that the words go anywhere.
My response: I probably represent a minority viewpoint within Unitarian Universalism — I have no personal prayer life, and prayer has never worked for me personally. I’ve tried it, but it doesn’t do anything for me. However, I have seen that public prayer is an effective way to give voice to concerns of a community, so I am happy to do public prayer.
Many Unitarian Universalists do pray. People for whom I have the highest respect tell me that they believe there is a God who listens to their prayers. Other Unitarian Universalists think of prayer in a wider, more metaphorical sense — for example, I know Unitarian Universalists who think of social justice work as a kind of prayer. I think a big part of this depends on how you define the word “prayer.”
For more on this topic, check out the pamphlet “Unitarian Universalist Views on Prayer,” which you’ll find in a rack by the bulletin board in the Parish House.