chop wood. carry water. interpretations

in case anyone thought i was blowing smoke

When I said the phrase can be magical I was this serious (pic taken 4/29/25):

But the buddhist parable on it’s own may not land for everyone. Let’s dig in. As a reminder, the ultra-short version is (please see this prior post for the full parable)

“Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.” — Zen Kōan

I also like my friend’s version:

“How do you reach enlightenment? chop wood, carry water. What do you do after enlightenment? Whatever the fuck you want.” — Bijoy Goswami

When I am asked what it means here’s the short version:

“The parable is a reminder about presence and engagement in all that we do.”

And that’s why I got it - to be a real reminder in all moments, which is why it faces me. BUT, it can go much, much deeper. I like these two mid-length interpretations -

Optimistic version:

“Before Enlightenment, you hate your life. You chop wood and carry water, but secretly wish to get out of it all. You bear with these activities through habit and out of hopelessness, but you really wish you could do something else. In a way, you are a victim, a slave - the wood chops you and the water carries you, and there is no way to escape. This could go for eternity, it is like living in eternal hell.

After Enlightenment, you are in harmony with the universe. You realized emptiness of it all, so you see that there is nothing more important than chopping wood and carrying water. All activities are equalized, there is no preference, no discrimination. Because there is no "you", no ego, no personality, no being, no separate individuality - there is no conflict. No need to escape. No other bank to be reached, no Nirvana to seek. But also, because you have mastered your mind, you are not chopped by the wood and carried by the water anymore. You can flip your perspective at will. It is your choice to chop wood and carry water, and you live it in complete suchness and spontaneity. You are beyond the beyond. And even beyond "beyond the beyond".

Realist (or Cynic) version:

“After Enlightenment, you are no more in harmony with the universe than you were before, but you try to remind yourself through your ongoing Hell on earth that for one shining, brilliant moment, you realized the emptiness of it all, so sometimes now you see that there is nothing more important than chopping wood and carrying water. All activities are equalized, there is no preference, no discrimination. Because there is no "you", no ego, no personality, no being, no separate individuality - there is no conflict. No need to escape. No other bank to be reached, no Nirvana to seek. You have not mastered your mind, and you are a fool to think you have but you know that you don't have to be chopped by the wood and carried by the water anymore. You probably can't flip your perspective at will, it takes monks, shamans and yogis lifetimes to reach that level, but at least now you know that it is your choice to chop wood and carry water. Your feelings don't change, the world doesn't change. You still feel the same conflicts and oppositions, but now you have learned that you can choose how you react to those things, and that is the only control any of us have.” Source

there’s a lot to unpack there, but here’s my main takeaway:

To me it seems to say that nothing really matters so all things matter equally. This was depressing to me. And while it’s the basis for The Puzzle engagement, I don’t wanna live my whole life just, like, not thinking about whether some things are more important to me than others. So that’s the magic of The Puzzle. We chop wood and carry water in our days, then, at times, we zoom out and choose the wood we chop and water to carry. We can treat it all the same, but still choose a path. We look at our puzzle, the pieces in front of us, and pick our vision of where we want to go. THEN we chop wood and carry water to get there.

The time where the phrase turned to magic for me was a tough one. At the time my water and wood was washing dishes and mopping the floors after producing a CPG product. I did it all even though I wasn’t supposed to. I had partners that were supposed to be doing it. They just didn’t. I tried to communicate my frustration, but I didn’t do a good job of that. And so, instead, I chopped wood and carried water. It turned the tasks into enjoyable ones, which was rather shocking to me. I couldn’t believe that I was enjoying mopping the floors. I would also do it really well. No skipping corners, no lightly touching areas. I mopped the FUCK out of those floors!

Occasionally, however, I still asked myself ‘how did I get here?’ It certainly wasn’t the classical ‘highest and best use of my time.’ I still wanted to do more even though I was loving the work. The Puzzle perfectly connected the two. It’s ok to want to do more. Desire may be the cause of suffering to some, but that’s ok too. I don’t mind suffering. When I started choosing the vision at the end of the forest and river magical things started happening. The world didn’t change, but I did. I asked for what I wanted (maybe for the first time, really, in my life) and I really went after it. Quickly the water and wood changed. But it no longer mattered what the water and wood was anymore cause it was all water and wood.

But like all good things, it faded. Sometimes I don't think of my magical phrase for weeks as I move through stressful times and good times. I decided I needed something to keep it close to me. So I could access the phrase, and presence, easier. That's why the tattoo faces me. I'm not trying to evangelize it, it's for just me. It's my forever reminder to be more present in all things.

**note: that tattoo was intended to be a typewriter font and imperfect lettering. It came dangerously close to what I would call a prison tat, however. As part of my mind freaked out a little and said it’s way too sloppy the other part said that’s what makes it exactly what I need.