Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 22:59:45 -0700
From: Neil Ohlenkamp 

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In feudal Japan there was a well-known warrior. Although not born of the Samurai class, or even 
of Japanese origin, he was trained in the traditional martial arts from an early age and attained 
the title of Sensei. After winning many battles he retired from physical combat and took up the 
study of the more esoteric ways. Enlisting the aid of a trusted servant (whose name was Honda) he 
travelled the countryside in pursuit of the one principle binding all of nature together.

One day without warning, while on a pilgrimmage to a far away place to study ancient philosophy 
his soul crossed paths with another seeker. Sharing many lessons and secrets he achieved a moment 
of insight and self-realization which transformed him.  Later, with a renewed appreciation for 
the beauty and wonder of life, yet seemingly separated again from the source of that Beauty, he 
became a poet and artist of words.

It was at this time in his life that he was travelling along the coast with his servant, Honda, 
early one morning.  As he was contemplating this separation from the Beauty he longed for, he 
suddenly recognized certain truths.  It was with distinct clarity that he saw that all things 
natural (like love itself) can cross great distances in an instant. Even immense space presents 
no barrier to the light of the moon as it creates it's image simultaneously on every earthly body 
of water.  It is the strength of the light and the receptivity of the water that determines how 
closely the image reflects the reality.  It is only in appearance that one and the other are even 
separate. They are bound together by the one principle he was seeking, and below the surface that 
is the limit of our perception they are united (there is no duality).  In addition he saw that 
within the cycles of nature even as we lose, we gain. Winter leads to spring as surely as night 
leads to day. There is hope in this harmony.

It is said that on this occasion he wrote the following verse in honor of the Beauty he sought to 
be with:


Low in the gray dawn sky,
The full moon lingers.

At the waiting sea,
It joins its reflection;
Then fades below the surface,
As the sunrise warms my back.