NOVEMBER BANYAN TREE
Teaching story
NEVER-ENDING JOURNEY
A martial artist kneels before his sensei (master) in a ceremony to receive the hard-earned black belt. After years of relentless training, the student has finally reached a pinnacle of achievement in the discipline.
“Before receiving the belt, you must answer the essential question, 'What is the true meaning of the black belt?'” asks sensei. “Why, the end of my journey,” says the student. “A well-deserved reward for all of my hard work.” The master waits for more. Clearly, he is not satisfied. The sensei finally speaks, “You are not ready for the black belt. Return in one year.”
As the student kneels before his master a year later, he is again asked the question: “What is the true meaning of the black belt?” “A symbol of distinction and the highest achievement in our art,” the young man responds. Again, the master waits for more. Still unsatisfied, he says once more, “You are not ready for the black belt. Return in one year.” A year later, the student kneels before his sensei and hears the question, "What is the true meaning of the black belt?” This time, he answers, “The black belt represents not the end, but the beginning, the start of a never-ending journey of discipline, work, and the pursuit of an ever-higher standard.”
“Yes,” says the master. “You are now ready to receive the black belt and begin your work.”
BRUCE LEE
This, I know
• If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done. Make at least one definite move daily toward your goal.
• A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.
• If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there. You must go beyond them.
• The moment is freedom. I couldn’t live by a rigid schedule. I try to live freely from moment to moment, letting things happen and adjusting to them.
• Self-knowledge involves relationship. To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. Relationship is a process of self-evaluation and self-revelation. Relationship is a mirror in which you discover yourself—to be is to be related.
• Reality is apparent when one ceases to compare. There is ‘what is’ only when there is no comparison at all, and to live with ‘what is’ is to be peaceful.
• Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.
Inspiration
THE SECRETS WE HIDE
We struggle to have meaning
In this world, which we all know.
We try, but yet we wonder
Where we all should go.
Hidden in the questions,
We cannot find
the answers. They are all hidden
Deep inside our minds.
Hidden in our soul
Is the life we try to hide,
But in time it will find you,
And it will release
All of its secrets hidden beneath,
So before it ruins the life you have made,
Release those dark secrets,
And the memories will fade.
Hidden in our lives are stories left untold
Of the things we didn't want them to know,
But once you tell somebody
And make your feelings known,
The struggle will be over
And you'll finally be home.
—Tiffany Franklin
ONE-MINUTE WISDOM
The unwanted apprentice
‘We have no doors in our monastery,’ Shanti said to the visitor, who had come in search of knowledge.
‘And what about troublesome people who come to disturb your peace?’
‘We ignore them, and they go away,’ said Shanti.
‘I am a learned man who has come in search of knowledge,’ insisted the foreigner. ‘But what do you do about stupid people? Do you just ignore them as well until they go away? Does that work?’
Shanti did not reply. The visitor repeated his question a few times, but seeing that he got no response, he decided to go and find a teacher who was more focused on what he was doing.
‘You see how well it works?’ said Shanti to himself, smiling.
Just for laughs
Jaime throws a tantrum
“Jaime,” he says, “wake up!”
Jaime answers, “I don’t want to get up, Papa.”
The father shouts, “Get up, you have to go to school.”
Jaime says, “I don’t want to go to school.”
“Why not?” asks the father.
“Three reasons,” says Jaime. “First, because it's so dull; second, the kids tease me; and third, I hate school.”
And the father says, “Well, I am going to give you three reasons why you must go to school. First, because it is your duty; second, because you are forty-five years old; and third, because you are the headmaster.”
Quote
Commit as many mistakes as possible, remember only one thing; don’t commit
the same mistake again. Then you will grow. —Osho