A Verse I Needed to Hear
Last night, I must have been tired and a little stressed because I found myself reaching for something that might soothe my mind and spirit. I picked up the Samyutta Nikaya, one of the major collections of the Buddha’s discourses in the Pāli Canon.
After reading several verses, I kept returning to the very first one. One line unexpectedly stayed with me:
“I crossed over the flood without pushing forward, without staying in place.”
— translated from the Pāli by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
It felt like something I needed to hear at that moment.
When I feel stuck or under a lot of pressure, I often tell myself one of two things: Keep going, or just give up. If I stop, I sometimes feel as though I have failed myself. But if I need to continue, how do I continue without exhausting myself?
Neither Pushing Nor Giving Up
The Buddha doesn’t say that he crossed the flood by pushing harder. He also doesn’t say that he simply stopped making an effort.
So what does that teach us?
I hear something much subtler than simply, “Keep going.”
Perhaps the teaching is about learning how to continue without grasping, forcing, freezing, or giving up. We keep moving, but we don’t fight the current with all our strength. We remain steady enough to respond to what is happening.
Then, somehow, the path reveals itself as we continue.
Sthira and Sukha
This reminds me of something I often say in my yoga class:
“Stay where it feels just right, where you can still maintain a deep, steady breath.”
In yoga, this reflects the balance of sthira and sukha or steadiness and ease.
Steadiness means applying enough effort to stay present and supported without constantly pushing harder.
Ease means continuing the practice while leaving room to breathe, soften, and respond to what the body needs.
Together, they create a space where we can experience effort without strain and ease without collapse.
We are still moving forward, but perhaps we are less likely to be carried away by fear, impatience, doubt, or desire.
Finding Your Own Rhythm
The right amount of effort is different for everyone. It can even be different for us from one day to the next.
That is one of the reasons I love yoga. The practice gives me a space to notice how I respond to everyday changes, especially when things become difficult.
Do I push harder?
Do I want to stop right now?
Or can I pause, listen within, and find another way forward?
When life feels challenging, we don’t always need to push harder in order to continue. We also don’t need to stop completely or give up.
Sometimes, we simply need to find our own rhythm — a pace that allows us to keep moving with both steadiness and ease.
Keep moving without forcing.
Stay grounded without becoming stuck.
Trust the path enough to walk it at a steady pace.
May you find peace within.
Key Takeaways
- We do not always need to push harder to move forward.
- Steadiness does not mean rigidity, and ease does not mean giving up.
- Sthira and sukha remind us to balance effort with softness.
- Challenges can become opportunities to pause, listen within, and notice how we respond.
- Finding our own rhythm can help us continue without forcing or becoming stuck.
Reference
- “Ogha-tarana Sutta: Crossing over the Flood” (SN 1.1), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 30 November 2013, https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn01/sn01.001.than.html