Sitting in the Unknown
As a Buddhist practitioner, I have learned that uncertainty is not an obstacle — it is the ground we walk on. We cannot predict the storms of life, but we can learn to meet them with steady attention, to sit with what arises, and to trust that clarity can emerge in its own time.
One story from the Jataka tales has stayed with me through moments of doubt and confusion. In it, a bamboo cutter finds himself lost in the forest, unsure of what he is seeking. The words of an old monk he meets there have often guided me when I have felt equally adrift: cut what is ready, leave what is not.
When the World Feels Unstable
A bamboo cutter lived in a village beside a dense bamboo forest. Each day he worked with care, cutting only what was ready, moving with the rhythm of the trees.
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Then a season of endless rain arrived. Paths became rivers, roofs collapsed, and his baskets refused to dry. The world he knew — familiar and ordered — became unpredictable.
He tried to keep his routine, but every step felt uncertain. He could no longer find the rhythm in his work, nor the confidence to know what to do next.
Walking Without a Map
One evening, restless and uneasy, he left the village. He didn’t know where he was going, or what he hoped to find. He only knew he needed to move.
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He walked into the forest, the rain soaking his clothes, the wind pulling at his hair. The forest was dark, tangled, unfamiliar. He had no plan. No destination. Just the quiet urgency of a heart searching for some sense of direction.
The Teacher in the Rain
Under a broad tree sat an old monk. His posture was calm, his expression still, as if the storm were simply another presence to sit with.
“How can you remain here?” the bamboo cutter asked. “Don’t you fear the flood, the wind, the chaos?”
“When has the world ever been still?” the monk said.
They sat together, listening to the rain. Finally, the monk spoke again:
“When you cut bamboo, do you know which stalk will bend and which will break?”
“No,” said the man. “I only cut what is ready.”
“Then do the same now. Cut what is ready. Leave what is not.”
The bamboo cutter closed his eyes. For the first time in weeks, he felt a breath settle in his chest, as if the storm itself had softened.
New Shoots After the Rain
Days passed. The clouds slowly dispersed, and sunlight returned, falling across the wet forest floor. New shoots emerged from the earth, straight and resilient.
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The bamboo cutter moved among them, touching leaves, feeling the steady pulse of life. He realized that he didn’t need a map or certainty. All he needed was presence — patience, attention, and a willingness to act only when the moment called for it.
Finding Stability in Uncertainty
Uncertainty is the teacher of patience and resilience. It asks us to pause, to trust, and to act only when the time is right. Life does not require that we have all the answers — only that we remain attentive and willing.
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The bamboo cutter left the forest with a quiet clarity: in the midst of the unknown, presence and careful action are the path forward.
Yours in the Dharma,
Lama Chimey
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Lama Chimey 