So here's a crude attempt to explain the Buddhist teaching and how it relates to Row your boat:
My Mum says it was written in the 1920's with their romantic view of the world. So they sung that life was a dream. Which i think is vastly different to "but a dream" which i think is translated better as "only a dream".
So my issue with it is that i could be teaching my kiddies that life isn't real, we're part of a dream. Which is confusing at best. I have no other issues with songs that teach realities of life Humpty dumpty- (things break), jack and jill (people break) rock a bye baby (crap happens) ring a rosy (plague- people die)...etc. But this song sounds Buddhist- that life is just a distraction from us being able to attain nirvana. The eighth point on the path to enlightenment is to remain aloof from the world, aloof from evil states of mind, aloof from all sensations of the senses. Fundamental Buddhism seeks a permanent escape from anguish and suffering (in the world) through realising the ultimate reality (Nirvana).
Hence, why Buddhists try to not "engage" with the world too much, because the world is suffering.
Buddhists, as described by their third noble truth, attempt to overcome suffering by giving up all your wants.
The Buddhist's goal is to not be reborn into this world. And as such, their morals for living in this world are an attempt to not receive karma- because karma comes from wanting and desiring and causes reincarnation.
I know this is a crude description of their beliefs, i've only touched on one of the four noble truths & haven't explained the 8 fold path to enlightenment, but this is all i need to explain my thoughts on row your boat. (sorry, Buddhists on my bad explanation). Please post if you disagree with my understanding, but this is what I was taught about non-westernised (true) Buddhism.
So, when I read row your boat, I read a Buddhist's view of the world, not a post-war idealistic mentality.
Because to them, the ultimate reality is "the one" and they try to refrain from engaging (or as I would see it- sensing) the world. They refrain from grappling with emotions and rather try to distance themselves from feelings, because this can lead to evil thoughts or wants from within. So classic Buddhism would see the world as just a dream. Not worth engaging with in any real emotion of anger, disgust or even joy, because these feelings stem from a desire or need within which must be expelled to attain ultimate reality.
Hence, the world is not real. It is "but a dream..." and not to be taken seriously.
As a Mum and a believer in Christianity, it's not my job to shelter my kids from other teachings, but if I spend a lot of time singing this to them when they're not old enough to understand what I believe is the truth to this world, then I'm not doing a good job of explaining the world to them simply and clearly. I don't want to confuse my kids any more than necessary. I need to teach them first and foremost that there is a God who loves them very much. And that God humbled himself to save us from all the crap that's here. This life is not a dream. Bad stuff really happens here. And it really makes us sad when it happens. And it's ok to feel sad. But just as real as this world is our God. And our God is good. And our God can take us out of this sadness. So we need to know he's there and love him back.
To read more on Buddhism, in more succinct language, visit:
4 comments:
Craig has critiqued this and feels that I'm being unfair to Buddhism. He thinks Row your boat may be reflecting a different worldview to that of Buddhism.
He says that remaining aloof to this world isn't synonomous to thinking that this world is unreal and therefore a dream.
He's probably right. Thoughts?
I think it's dangerous when we apply this song outside the context of rowing a boat gently down the stream.
Life is but a dream when we row boats, is it not? And clearly it is not speaking about white water rafting
If our house was on fire and we were locked inside without a key, I don't think whoever wrote the song would be thinking that we are to merrily hold to a view that life is a dream. Is he or she saying that?
Maybe it's about when we have all the terrible things in life coming at once, a place we can go to is the stream with our canoes to remember the gifts we have in this life, and remind ourselves "hey, it could be a lot worse than this..."
So ask yourself Nicole, where is my stream, and who is my canoe? And if I'm using a paddle, what colour is it?
I can see where you're coming from Nicole, but I also just thought of the song as a more light-hearted nursery rhyme. "Life can get complicated, but you know what? Just be happy. It passes so quickly, it is like a dream." I can see your correlation to Buddhist thought though... and here's just a little addition to your exposition on Buddhism... what would happen to the world if we were all Buddhist? Would we stop populating? Because you cannot be a mother and an emotionally-detatched being simultaneously. It's just not the way we were wired. Or the way God designed us. The human species would not survive if mothers weren't emotionally connected to, and moved by their babies. So I wonder how Buddhists reconcile parenting, attachment and the state of nirvana? Maybe I am taking the Buddhist philosophy to its extreme here too?
Very funny, Geoff, and yes, Hayles, I see your point.
I know it's probably meant to be lighthearted. =)
And I've never thought about whether a true Buddhist would bother with a family. I know that I would find it utterly impossible to stay detached. It would go against every fiber of my being. And how could they want to? There's loads of joy to be had in the process!
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