All methods are one; do not impose your method on others.
All methods in the world are like boats and oars; after crossing the river, one should not cling to the boat.
The Daoist text “Dao De Jing” states: “The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao.”
The Buddhist “Diamond Sutra” says: “You monks should know that my teaching is like a raft; even the teachings should be abandoned, let alone what is not a teaching.”
Both highlight a supreme blind spot in practice: all paths in the world are tools for ferrying beings to the other shore. After entering, one should abandon the path and adjust according to one’s own life. The path is not the only truth, and a single method may not suit everyone (teaching according to individual capabilities). Therefore, all methods are one; do not impose your method on others.
The existence of methods is solely for the convenience of sentient beings. Just like novice drivers who must follow their instructor’s tips when learning to drive: “When you encounter this curve, turn left two circles on the steering wheel; when you encounter that slope, turn right three circles.” These tips are merely temporary guidelines for beginners to establish safe driving habits. However, for those who have become skilled drivers, these tips are no longer necessary. For experienced drivers, driving has become instinctual; they can pass their driving test easily without having to calculate turns.
The methods needed by beginners are like learning to drive—guidelines for quickly entering practice. Individual paths are also not meant to be seen as the only correct way. Buddhism states: “The teaching is like a raft,” meaning that once beings have crossed over from suffering, they must abandon the raft and not carry it forward. Yet people often become attached to teachings, viewing them as the sole truth and forcing others to follow their own methods; this creates another obstacle in practice. The Daoist saying goes: “To know what is constant is enlightenment; not knowing what is constant leads to disaster.” This highlights many inflated attitudes of those who wish to teach others.
There is no inherent hierarchy among all methods; they are merely convenient paths leading beings toward enlightenment. Similarly, there are countless ways to solve a problem like “chickens and rabbits in a cage.” At first, one might need algebraic equations for detailed solutions; however, does this problem have only this one solution? No! Once we understand how to solve it and its steps, we can integrate our knowledge and realize that methods such as assumption method, trial-and-error method, proportion method, remainder method, or even matrix method… can all solve the chickens and rabbits problem. The key point here is that each person’s mindset differs and their knowledge varies; thus each person will find different methods suitable for themselves. If one clings rigidly to a single approach and insists it is the only correct answer, they underestimate the vastness of “the Dao.”
This profound meaning reflects the infinite changes of “the Dao.” As Daoists say, “The highest good resembles water,” which has a gentle nature and adapts its shape according to its container without being stubborn about its form. All laws in this world should be like this: teaching according to individual capabilities and adapting flexibly. The law should be like water—unattached—so it can penetrate deeply into people’s hearts.
Life practice follows suit. All religious paths in this world—whether Confucianism, Buddhism or Daoism—or various philosophies of mind essentially serve as tools for guiding individuals across life’s challenges. Once one’s heart comprehends these insights within them deeply enough that they no longer cling strictly to any particular method itself—as Zen masters say: “Seeing mountains as mountains and waters as waters; seeing mountains as not mountains and waters as not waters; then seeing mountains still as mountains and waters still as waters.” Initially needing pathways through teachings helps discern between mountains and waters but eventually transcending these limitations leads back into an unobstructed state of freedom.
Zhuangzi said: “Fish forget each other in rivers and lakes while people forget each other through doctrines.” Those who truly understand the great way no longer cling rigidly onto specific teachings—they do not feel they’re using any special method but have internalized wisdom naturally.
Law becomes lawlessness; Dao becomes non-Dao.
However, people often become obsessed with their own practices while forcing others into imitation—this reflects attachment or fixation which Buddhism terms attachment while Taoism calls stagnation or obstruction. True wisdom should align with Zhuangzi’s words “Heaven and earth arise together with me while all things unite with me.” There’s no distinction among all laws—the so-called different methods merely represent different paths leading toward one truth.
A famous Zen koan tells of Master Zhao Zhou’s seven-pound robe when a monk asked him “All laws return to one; where does one return?” Master Zhao Zhou replied “I made a seven-pound robe in Qing Village.” Is this answer strange? We know that returning ‘to one’ means gathering countless thoughts back into oneself—from scattered minds transforming into focused centers—Master Zhao Zhou’s response reflects his dedicated practice everywhere at every moment—in joy over his new robe he simply answered about his seven-pound garment because he lived by “ordinary mind is Dao,” integrating Buddhist teachings seamlessly into daily life emphasizing that whether eating or sleeping…any daily activity done wholeheartedly constitutes practice.
Buddhism states: All laws return unto one! Since it has already returned unto ‘one,’ why ask where ‘one’ resides? Why cling onto where ‘one’ exists?………. .
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