Crossing the Monkey Bridge and the Bamboo Raft

**Summary:** In this recollection, Venerable Thích Chân Quang remembers crossing a precarious monkey bridge by not wavering, and later stepping onto a bamboo raft across a lotus pond, all thanks to a steady mind.

The journey led to the countryside of Trà Ôn, Phước Hậu, where the red earth road was dry and dusty beneath our feet. In the distance, a motorized sampan hummed, and the birds had fallen silent. Our group, comprising the elderly Venerable monk, Teacher Chân Quang, and a few others, was walking. Before us, a wooden log was stretched across a narrow waterway, its surface slippery and branch-like, with no handrail.

"That's a monkey bridge. Only those used to it can cross," the local people told us.

Teacher Chân Quang, having grown up in Saigon, had never traversed one this way. When we arrived, we saw that locals used neither bicycles nor cars, only boats and their own feet. The Venerable monk was old, and the nuns behind us shook their heads in dismay.

The teacher wrestled with his doubt: "If I hesitate and crawl, I'll fall. If I take the risk, the fear alone might defeat me." Seeing his own teacher waiting, he took a deep breath.

"Let me go first, then I can help you across."

"Be careful, child," the Venerable monk nodded.

The teacher closed his eyes, charged forward at a run, and did not waver. Once across, he stood in the middle of the bridge and turned back.

"Step forward, Venerable Sir. I will hold your hand."

"Is it stable, child?" the monk asked, stepping cautiously.

"I am here. Take a strong step."

And so, they made it across. The crucial moment was when the teacher realized that by taking the risk without wavering, it became possible. Later, at the temple, he asked a lay follower to hold a bundle of bamboo while he stepped onto it to cross the lotus pond.

"Step up, child," the follower said, holding the end of the bundle.

"What if it sinks?" the teacher asked.

"A steady mind will not let you sink."

The teacher stepped forward with a splash, unshaken, and reached the other shore. He reflected: with strong determination, even difficult things can be accomplished.

From then on, whenever the teacher faced great difficulties, he remembered the lesson of the monkey bridge. A mind that is steady and does not waver is the foundation of everyday courage.

**The Meaning of the Story**

A strong and unwavering spirit is the source of courage. When our resolve is firm, what seems perilous becomes manageable, benefiting both our lives and our practice of the teachings.

*Compiled from a Dharma talk by Venerable Thích Chân Quang*