THE CHALLENGE
One day a hungry
old man entered a small village and noticed a sign proclaiming the name of a
local iaido (sword) school.
Knowing that it
was customary for a dojo's sensei (teacher) to accept
all challenges the old man decided upon a very dangerous plan.
If he could
entice the sensei into a duel and be defeated but not killed, he would then by
tradition be offered food and drink, as well as a place to sleep for the night.
Summoning up all
of his courage the old man approached the dojo and then walking boldly in he
proclaimed his intention to challenge the sensei to a duel. In response a
senior student stepped forward, introduced himself, and said that his sensei
was at home resting but that he would gladly accept the challenge in his place.
The old man refused and instead asked that a student be sent to the sensei's
home to tell him of the challenge.
Upon hearing his students report of the events that had just taken place the
sensei immediately put on his swords and hurried to the dojo. When the sensei
arrived he and the old man politely bowed to each other and in turn introduced
themselves, after which the old man re-issued his challenge, but explained that
it was not his intention to challenge for ownership of the dojo as was
sometimes the case, this duel was merely to be a test of each man's skill with
a sword. The sensei accepted and because of the nature of the challenge and
they agreed to fight using only wooden bokken
(practice swords) so that if a customary fatal cut was made neither man would
be killed.
The old man in
truth had no skill at all with a sword, he was simply seeking a meal and a
place to rest and this plan had seemed to offer the best prospect for success
and so as he stood facing the dojo's sensei across
the tatami mat he just held the wooden sword very
casually at his side. The sensei upon observing how open the old man was to an
attack and how unbelievably foolish his defensive posture appeared, suddenly
began to believe that this duel might not have been such a good idea after all.
Slowly in his mind he began to wonder about the old man's skill and in turn he
began to doubt himself and his own chances for victory.
He knew, however,
that his own reputation and that of his dojo was at stake and so he took an
aggressive posture. For what seemed a very long time the two men just stood
there facing one another, neither of them made even the slightest move. The old
man for his part could not understand what was taking so long, but he knew he
had no choice in the matter, all he could do was wait
for the sensei to attack and claim his victory. The sensei on the other hand
had by now thoroughly convinced himself that he did indeed face a true iaido master, but even so he knew that he must do something
very soon and so he started to move towards the old man, determined to press
home his attack with all of his skill even though he felt sure now that he had
no chance of winning.
The old man
seeing the look on the sensei's face and sensing that he was about to be
attacked in full force quickly dropped his sword and falling to his knees he
broke down and confessed that he in fact had no skill at all with the sword,
going on to explain that he had not eaten in days and that he had hoped merely
to survive the challenge and then be offered a meal and a place to sleep for
the night.
Upon hearing this the sensei was suddenly overcome with the realization
that by allowing his own doubts to fill his mind, and by fantasizing about his
opponents abilities, he had almost defeated himself.
He decided then
and there to change the name of his sword style to "Mu
Nen Ryu" - "The
School of No Thought".
WALKING ZEN
Putting down your burdens
A long time ago in the hills of Quong Zu province, there once lived a revered old monk who was a
master of Zen Buddhism.
One day he decided that he would make a pilgrimage to a neighbouring monastery, and not wishing to make the journey
alone, he decided to take along one of his young disciples.
They started their journey early the next morning and in the true spirit
of Zen each walked along engrossed in his own thoughts, and so they journeyed
for many hours without speaking. By mid-day they had come to a small stream and
it was here that they noticed a young girl dressed in fine silk, obviously
contemplating how best to cross the stream without getting her precious clothes
wet.
Immediately the old monk walked over to the young girl and in one smooth
motion, he picked her up in his arms and walked out into the stream, then after
carrying her safely to the other side, he gently put her down and walked on
without having said a single word.
His disciple having watched this whole incident was in a state of
complete shock, for he knew it was strictly forbidden for a monk to come into
physical contact with another person. Quickly, he too crossed the stream, and
then ran to catch up with his master, and together they once again walked on in
silence. Finally at sunset they made camp and settled down for the night.
The next morning after prayers and meditation the old monk and his
disciple once again continued their journey, once again in silence.
After many miles, and no longer able to contain his curiosity, the
disciple called to his master and said,
"Master may I ask you a question" ?
"Of course you may" his master replied, "knowledge comes
to those who seek it".
Respectfully his disciple said, "yesterday I saw you break one of
our most sacred vows when you picked up that young girl and carried her across
the stream, how could you do such a thing" ?
His master replied, "That is true, and you are right it is something
I should not have done, but you are as guilty as I am" .
"How so" asked his disciple, "for it was you who carried
her across the stream not I" ?
"I know" replied his master, "but at least on the other
side I put her down".
"You, however, are obviously still carrying her".
THE FISHERMAN AND THE SAMURAI
A long time ago during the reign of the Tokagawa
Shogunate a samurai set out on an errand.
Precisely one year ago to the day he had lent 10 koku
to a fisherman in a small coastal village nearby, and today was the day the
fisherman had promised he would repay the debt. The samurai arrived in the
village at noon and upon inquiring at the fisherman's home he was told by the fishermans wife that he would find the man down at his boat
working on his nets. Upon seeing the samurai coming up the beach the fisherman
threw himself to the ground and bowed his head to the sand. "Get up"
said the samurai, "As agreed it has been one year and I have come to
collect the money you owe me". "I have not forgotten my debt to
you" said the fisherman, who now stood but with his head still bowed,
"but it has been a very bad year for me and I regret that I do not have
the money I owe you".
Hearing this the samurai, who was not a man
known for his patience, flushed with anger and quickly drew his sword,
preparing to kill the fisherman then and there. "Why should I not simply
slay you instead" shouted the samurai as he raised the deadly blade above
his head. Fearing that his life was at and end and having nothing to lose the
fisherman boldly spoke out. "For some time now I have been studying
martial arts" he replied, "and one of the lessons that my master
teaches, is never to strike when you are angry". "I beg you"
said the fisherman, "give me one more year to pay you what I owe".
Thinking about what the fisherman had just said the samurai slowly
lowered his sword. "Your master is wise" said the samurai, "as a
student of the art of the sword I too have heard that lesson many times, but
sometimes I get so angry I act without thinking". Putting away his sword
the samurai spoke in a voice that was use to being obeyed. "You shall have
another year to repay your debt to me" he said, "but when I return if
you do not have all the money you owe me I shall not hesitate to take your life
instead" and without another word he turned and walked away.
Having left the village later than he intended to it was already dark by
the time the samurai arrived home. Seeing no lights on in the house he crept in
quietly not wishing to wake the servants or his wife. As he entered his bed
chamber he notice that there were two persons lying on his futon, one he
recognized as his wife and the other from their clothing was unmistakeably another samurai.
Swiftly he drew his sword and as his anger quickly grew he moved in to
slay them both. Just then, as he was about to strike, the fisherman's words
came back to him, "never strike when you are angery".
This time I shall follow the lesson he thought to himself, pausing he took a
deep breath and tried to relax, then on purpose he
made a loud noise. Hearing the sound both his wife and the stranger immediately
woke up and when his wife had lit a candle he found himself face to face with
his wife and his mother who had dressed up in his clothes and another set of
swords.
"What is the meaning of this" he demanded, "I almost slew
you both". His wife quickly explained that when he had not returned by
night fall they decided to dress his mother up in his clothes so that in the
event that an intruder entered the home they would be frightened off at the
sight of a samurai in the house.
A that moment the samurai realized that his habit of "striking
without thinking" had almost cost him the life of his wife and his mother.
One year later the samurai again walked down the same beach towards the
fisherman. After exchanging the proper formal greetings the fisherman said,
"It has been an excellent year my Lord, here is all the money I owe you as
promised, and with interest".
"Keep your money" replied the samurai, "you do not know
it, but your debt was paid to me long ago".
TWO DOGS
When asked to describe himself, a man once said ...
"Inside of me there are two dogs,
one of the dogs is
mean and evil,
the other dog is
good,
the mean dog fights
the good dog,
all the time".
When asked which dog wins
he reflected for a
moment,
and said ...
"the one I feed the most."
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
In Feudal Japan a great general led his army in battle against a small
village.
Knowing the general's reputation all of the citizens in the village fled,
except for an old monk, who refused to leave his beloved temple.
Upon hearing this news the general decided to go to the temple and see
for himself just what kind of man the monk was.
As he rode through the gate and onto the temple grounds he found the monk
standing there waiting to meet him. The monk greeted him warmly, as he would
any other guest, and he offered the general all of the hospitality his temple
had to offer.
Realizing that the monk did not fear him at all the general said,
"Do you not realize that you are talking to a man who could kill you in
the blink of an eye"?
To which the monk replied, "Do you not realized that you are talking
to a man who can be killed without blinking an eye"?
From http://www.shotokankarate.ca/short%20stories.htm
HOW LONG?
Martial arts student went to his teacher
and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system. How
long will it take me to master it." The teacher's
reply was casual, "Ten years." Impatiently, the student answered,
"But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will
practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take
then?" The teacher thought for a moment, "20 years."