Po

"The mountain rests on the earth. When it is steep and narrow, lacking a broad base, it must topple over. Its position is strong only when it rises out of the earth broad and great, not proud and steep. So likewise those who rule rest on the broad foundation of the people. They too should be generous and benevolent, like the earth that carries all. Then they will make their position as secure as a mountain is in its tranquillity."
- "Po," the 23rd hexagram of the I Ching

The good weather of yesterday morning continued throughout the day, and I used the opportunity to drive up to Washington Park overlooking the city. The park is located up in the hills visible behind the buildings in yesterday's post, and contains a zoo, a Japanese garden, an experimental rose garden, and the Hoyt Arboretum, and probably other attractions I have not discovered yet. From the vantage point of the park, one can observe the City of Portland in the Willamette Valley below.

The big pink building, sometimes called "The Big Pink Building," is actually the US Bankcorp Building near Portland's Old Town. My office is almost next door, but at seven stories, the building is not visible from Washington Park.

But the real treat of the day was seeing Mt. Hood in the Cascade Range across the valley. As I walked through the rose garden, the mountain first presented itself to me above the nearby condominium and office buildings which compete with one another for views of the mountains.

Walking around, I was soon able to view the mountain from different vantage points (perception depending upon perspective). From the Overlook Trail in the arboretum, the mountain seemed to float above the earth - the mountain above, the earth below - reminding me of Po, the 23rd hexagram in the I Ching, the Book of Changes.

Depending on where I was standing, the mountain appeared either near or far, high or low, hiding behind buildings or towering over them.

Zen Master Dogen once said that mountains walk, and at times it felt that Mt. Hood was walking along its own trail parallel to mine, but separated by the valley between us. Washington Park is connected to 5,000-acre Forest Park, which in turn connects to other parks and wildlife sanctuaries, and contains more than 60 miles of trails. If my short walk through Washington Park's rose garden and arboretum provided such different perspectives of the mountain, how much different would it appear if I were to continue walking along the miles of Forest Park trails?

Our perception depends upon our perspective, and our perspective is constantly changing. Why, then, should we cling to our one-sided views?