The Cosmic Joke of Nondual Existence: A Tale of Waves and Oceans

wavy and wisdom

Once upon a time, in a vast ocean, lived a little wave named Wavy. Wavy had always felt like something was missing. He observed the other waves around him, rising and falling, crashing and subsiding, and yet he wondered, "Is this all there is?"

One day, Wavy heard whispers among the currents about an ancient wave named Wisdom, who held the secrets of the ocean. Filled with intrigue, Wavy ventured far and wide until he found Wisdom calmly rippling near a coral reef.

"Ah, you must be Wavy," said Wisdom, as if expecting him. "I sense you're searching for something more."

"How did you know?" asked Wavy, surprised.

"In the ocean, the currents tell more tales than you'd think," Wisdom replied with a chuckle.

Wavy eagerly shared his yearnings and asked, "What's the secret of this existence? What are we waves doing here?"

Wisdom took a deep breath, the sort of breath that tides take when turning. "Have you ever questioned what you're made of, Wavy?"

"Water, I presume?"

"Ah, exactly!" Wisdom exclaimed. "And what's the ocean made of?"

"Water as well, but what's your point?"

waves in the ocean

"Don't you see? You're not just a wave - you're the ocean expressing itself as a wave. You've created this distinction, this duality between you and the ocean. But in reality, you are one and the same."

Confusion swirled in Wavy's mind like a whirlpool. "So, I'm the ocean? But then, why do I feel so separate?"

Wisdom sighed, the sort of sigh oceans give when a storm has passed. "It's the cosmic joke, my dear Wavy. We create the notion of 'self' and 'other,' as if we're individual actors on this grand stage. But it's all a play, and the ocean is both the playwright and the stage."

Wavy felt both puzzled and enlightened, as if a fog had lifted but the path ahead was yet unclear. "So, what should I do with this knowledge?"

Wisdom chuckled, a sound like gentle waves lapping a sandy shore. "That's the beauty, Wavy. There's nothing you 'should' do. You're already doing it. Just be. Be the wave that you are, and know that you're also the ocean. It's all just a cosmic play, unfolding for the sheer joy of it."

"Even when we crash? Even when we dissolve?" Wavy queried, still grappling with this new understanding.

"Especially then," said Wisdom. "Crashing and dissolving are also expressions of the ocean's play. Just think, without the lows, how would you recognise the highs? It's all an eternal dance of form and formlessness."

wisdom arises in wavy, like when the sun rises at dawn

As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple, Wavy felt an immense sense of relief and even joy. He realised that he wasn't lost; he was exactly where he needed to be—neither just a wave nor solely the ocean, but both, inseparable in their existence.

And so, Wavy returned to his part of the ocean, sharing what he had learned. Some waves listened intently; others shrugged it off as mystic nonsense. But it didn't matter to Wavy. He knew the essence of his non-dual nature, and that was enough.

Whenever he would rise, he rose with the joy of knowing he was but an expression of something much greater. And whenever he would crash, he would laugh—a sound like rolling thunder under the sea—realising that even in his dissolution, he was participating in the cosmic joke, the cosmic play of existence.

Because in the end, it was all just for fun.

And so, dear friends, just as Wavy and Wisdom were never separate, neither are we separate from the universe. We are both the actors and the audience in this grand, bewildering and beautiful play we call life. It's a play replete with joys, sorrows, twists, and turns, but it's all underpinned by a single truth: we are not individual waves, but manifestations of the same ocean.

So, the next time you feel tossed around by the currents of life, remember: it's all a cosmic joke, a cosmic play, unfolding just for the sheer joy of it all. And in that realisation, perhaps, we can all find a moment to laugh—knowing it's the universe laughing through us.

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