This imagery, a painting (Christ Our Pilot) by Warner Sallman, had powerful effect on me as a boy and young man. I looked at it from time to time, feeling its power and directive. Only in looking back decades later could I see its deep message: I was to head for the shores and seas of Buddhism. As the young man in the painting, I would eventually firmly grasp the eight-spoked Buddhist Wheel of Life with its strong core and center. This would be done under the direction of Christ my pilot. I was on my way to becoming a Zen Baptist and did not know it.
How interesting too that the Wheel became the symbol I used in my first book, Embodying Spirit: The Inner Work of the Warrior, for framing the eight principles and practices for applying the martial arts to daily life (nine, including the Wheel center). I did that unconsciously with understanding coming later.
I am so grateful for the Mystery that unfolds within us.
