Predetermination as Vast as the Sea, Freedom as Small as a Boat

2,037 characters2006.07.16

For some reason, this sentence suddenly came to mind.

“Predestination is like the sea, freedom like a small boat.” — This saying comes from Islamic doctrine. There was a period when I was quite fascinated by Islam—though of course I still retain a strong interest in it now. But as for its doctrines and tenets, I know very little; the only line I can really recite from memory is probably this one.

Yet these ten characters already capture the relation between freedom and constraint very aptly, and with considerable depth.

On the question of “fate,” this sentence can be understood in two ways: one is pessimistic—no matter how “apparently” free life may be, one ultimately cannot escape the Buddha’s palm, and in the end is merely circling within the sea of fate; the other is optimistic—although the various causal conditions of life are “predestined,” and one can never escape the fetters of fate, life can still be infinitely broad, and one’s choices can still be infinitely rich.

Widening the perspective, one can also use the metaphor of the small boat and the sea to understand the broader question of “freedom.” Freedom and constraint are always relative; once you break out of one layer of restraint, you are often entering another. Everything has its limits. It is only natural to pursue freedom, but it is forever impossible to obtain freedom with no limits at all; to be content and rejoice is also happiness.

If we extend this further to the question of certainty and uncertainty, it is similar. My pluralist position insists: “not unique, but not arbitrary either.” For example, in a self-sufficient theoretical system—what is truth, what is justice, and so on—there is not only one set that is “absolutely correct” or “uniquely reasonable.” And yet, though it is uncertain, one still cannot simply act arbitrarily and recklessly. A small boat has infinitely many choices, but that does not mean it can leap out of the sea and fly in the sky—one cannot insist on “absolute correctness,” but neither does it amount to “anything goes.” To grant infinite degrees of freedom while also imposing the necessary limits and constraints—that is both possible and necessary.

2006年7月16日