The great waterfall of Lu Canyon is thousands of feet high,
with a halo of mist that can be seen for many miles. Nothing survives
the violent waters at its foot. Yet once K'ung Fu-tzu saw an old man
swim the tempest. K'ung-Fu-tzu and his retainers ran with ropes to rescue
him, but when they descended to the floor of the canyon they found the man
sitting on a large boulder, quietly singing.
K'ung Fu-tzu exclaimed, "You cannot be alive! What are your powers
to allow you to do what you have done?" The old man turned and smiled,
"I am just a man, but I began to learn as a boy, and I continue to practise.
I flow with the water, going up, down and around with it. I forget myself
and do not struggle against forces far beyond my control. Then I use
my meagre abilities in the moments when the water and I share the same path."