A troubled man who, exhausted from his suffering and confusion, asked a sage for help. The sage looked deeply into the troubled man and with compassion offered him a choice: "You may have either a map or a boat."
After looking at the many pilgrims about him, all of whom seemed equally troubled, the confused man said, "I'll take the boat."
The sage kissed him on the forehead and said, "Go then. You are the boat. Life is the sea."
