At LABCC Summer Camp, Students Learn Buddhist Parable Lessons

Campers’ Journey Is Like Crossing the ‘River of Fire, River of Water’

The Los Angeles Buddhist Temple Coordinating Council (LABCC) has been conducting a special Buddhist summer youth program for 70 years where campers ages 8 through 13 enjoy nature, engage in meaningful activities, create lifelong memories with their fellow participants and learn a little Buddhism.  

LABCC is a consortium of temples in Southern California consisting of many Buddhist traditions, including our BCA Southern District temples, Higashi Honganji, Zenshuji (Zen), Koyasan (Shingon) and Nichiren. This year’s camp had 120 campers, almost an equal number of staff, and was held again at Camp Morning Star in the nearby San Bernardino National Forest. 

This year’s theme, “The Three Treasures: Buddha, Dharma, Sangha,” brought together a dedicated group of ministerial staff who guided and supported the campers throughout the week.  

I had ministerial duties to conduct classes and lead a morning service.  One of the groups I was assigned to was the 12- and 13-year-old boys and girls — 26 energetic and rambunctious campers. 

We practiced and performed a play based on the famous parable “River of Fire, River of Water,” also known as “The Two Rivers and a White Path,” written 1,400 years ago by Chinese Master Shan Tao, one of the seven masters revered by our founder Shinran Shonin.

The parable is about a traveler who is heading westward and encounters an angry, surging river of water to the north and a river of leaping fire to the south. Each river is bottomless in depth and stretches to the horizon.  

Between the two rivers is a narrow white path to the opposite bank. From behind, the traveler suddenly hears wild beasts and bandits approaching who will try to kill him. He faces death at every turn and, in despair, he realizes he is doomed.  

The traveler contemplates his situation and says, “If I turn back, I will die.  If I remain here or try to cross the river, I will also die. I have no choice but to cross on the path and go forward. Since the path exists, it surely must be possible to walk across it!”

The traveler then hears a voice from his side of the rivers on the eastern bank encouraging him to go forward saying, “Oh traveler, be firm in your resolution to cross over on the white path, and you will slip the clutches of death!  But if you tarry where you are, you will surely die!”  

Then from the western bank, he hears another voice, “Oh traveler, with singleness of mind and right attention, go forward at once; I will protect you!  Do not be afraid of falling into the perils of fire or water!”  

Hearing these words, the traveler resolves singlemindedly to hasten forward and reaches the western bank, where he is safe and finds good friends.

The campers enthusiastically rehearsed their play, using props I brought, props they gathered and masks they made. The next day, they performed the play wonderfully for the whole camp at morning service.  A discussion of the meaning of the parable followed.

I explained that the water and fire represent the challenges we face within ourselves, what we know as the Three Poisons: greed, anger and ignorance.  

The raging water represents our insatiable greed and the leaping flames of the fire is our anger. Ignorance comes from the fact that we are unaware that these poisons are constantly working within us. We all agreed that our life challenges sometimes feel as insurmountable as the rivers of fire and water of the parable.  

Next, the campers learned that the wild beasts and bandits represent the difficulties we encounter outside of ourselves, the many obstacles and distractions we face from the world around us.  Like the traveler, we sometimes feel there is no hope in escaping from these conditions.

And yet, the voice from the eastern shore are the words from the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, reassuring the traveler there is a way forward. The Buddha opened a way to liberation, which is represented by the white path and, like the traveler, we realize that because the path exists, there must be a way to cross. We can all trust that there is a way to resolve the challenges we face.  

The beasts and bandits try to reassure the traveler that they mean them no harm, and they are like the false promises of those who want to lead us astray, telling us happiness comes from pursuits like fame, fortune, status and prestige.

From the western bank comes the voice of Amida Buddha, who symbolizes the wisdom and compassion that awaits when we take the path across.  There we find Dharma friends and a life of awakening.

In some ways, going to camp is akin to the journey of the traveler in the parable. Campers don’t face rivers of fire or water, but it is nonetheless a challenging situation, especially for the first time. There is often the fear of a new situation, away from the comfort and security of home and family, and the stress and uncertainty of encountering new and challenging tasks.  

Activities include an overnight campout, unfamiliar food, meeting new people, learning the rules, coping with expectations and learning new skills.  

The challenges abound from within and without — physically, socially and emotionally. By trusting in their leaders and counselors, who are like the voices of the Buddhas, by adapting and being open to new possibilities, the experience transforms into one where a camper finds their place. This is what the camp experience is supposed to achieve and it happens most of the time.  And it is why campers and adults have been coming back for 70 years.  

Namo Amida Butsu