Paulo Coelho
After having won many archery contests, the town champion went to the Zen master.
- I am the best of all – he said. – I didn’t study religion, never sought help from the monks, and succeeded in becoming the finest archer in the whole region. I heard that, for a time, you were the best archer in the region, and ask you: was it necessary to become a monk in order to learn to shoot?
- No – replied the Zen master.
But the champion was not satisfied: he took an arrow, placed it in the bow, fired it and hit a cherry which was very far away. Smiling, as if to say: "you might have saved your time, devoting yourself only to technique." And he said:
- I doubt whether you could do that.
Without looking in the least bit worried, the master went inside, fetched his bow, and began to walk towards a nearby mountain. On the way, there was an abyss which could only be crossed by an old bridge made of rotting rope, and which was almost collapsing: with complete calm, the Zen master went to the middle of the bridge, took his bow and placed an arrow in it, then aimed at a tree on the far side of the precipice, and hit his target.
- Now it is your turn – he kindly told the young man, as he returned to firm ground.
Terrified as he gazed down at the abyss below his feet, the young man went to the spot and fired, but his arrow veered wide of the mark.
- That is why the discipline of meditation was worthwhile – concluded the master, when the young man returned to him. – You may have great skill with the instrument you choose for your livelihood, but it us useless, if you cannot command the mind which uses that instrument.
Welcome to Share with Friends – Free Texts for a Free Internet
To command the mind is to fully trust we are held tight and carried by the Lord at every second of our life, there were you are, where the finest archer is and where each and every one in this universe is.
Alexandra, you are so charming. *smiling @ you*
Google have improved .
Well, let’s see… There was a time before time…a time before school, before professors and how-to books, when writing was something I did because it gave me joy, because there was something within that moved and propelled me toward this. Words were like ripe fruit in the mouth. Something to savor. Then there was this teacher, but not just a teacher of writing. A teacher of life, of concentration, one-pointed meditation. All he said was, “Walk, and the story will come to you. All that is irrelevant will fall away. Just walk.” Then there were all these others who interjected in my life, in my ambitions and dreams, and said, “You have promise, but an education is chiefly what you need.” So I heeded their guidance: “There are better teachers than this,” said one. “Younger teachers,” said another. “Whose writing is more contemporary, whose theories, more cutting-edge,” chimed in a third. And so, I left that teacher behind and sought out these others—teachers more famous, more celebrated, richer…. They taught me many things—how to twist a phrase into the shape of pretzel, how to write lines sharp as a scimitar blade, how to choose words with as much daring as a circus high-wire performer…. So many things they taught me. Until finally, I realized I no longer knew how to write at all. Much less did I care. Writing itself had become a performance, a show. Skills? I had gained a whole satchel full of tricks, but lost the soul of my art in the effort. In the end, I had all the parts to build a car, but no engine within it. The passion that had previously driven my writing when my writing was raw and unruly, it was gone. Nor had it been replaced by something higher, more lofty. The words on the page had become simply empty—form without substance.
Might it be the same, I wonder, whatever the practice? We could be talking about archery, fencing, aikido, writing…it matters not. If we concentrate only on honing our skills, and in the process forget to listen for and heed to the voice of the Higher Guide within, we lose our way. We might indeed become excellent in method, but the substance that, in the end, will sustain us, is lost. The purpose which initially drove us from within, negated.
Thank you for the inspiring post.
Savita
Hola Paulo, me contaron que tenías un libro llamado Guerrero de la Luz, te he buscado y voila!. Lo leeré, me lo han recomendado por varios sitios.
Maravilloso lo que cuentas aqui. Gracias por escribir.
Lo que es una pena es que google traduzca tan mal.
Un beso, encantada.
Ah, I see.
Yes to command the mind – discipline is worth while in order to be able to be that master …of his own domain -with love -determination and skill you can learn to follow your dreams and not give up ..through hard work and learning comes balance too .
Blessings Tania
Well, I will retreat and meditate now.
as i meditate, my mind goes skittering across the surface of silence chittering to itself until it runs out of things to say… only then does stillness allow me a stable place to take a stand, or, rather, allow me to become fluid enough to flow with the ongoing rush of the universe. Joseph Campbell said that the mind is a secondary organ to the human being… at issue is not my mind but not-mind being. only then do i become real in this world… or something like that…
Dear Thelma,
I agree with you:
The power of the mind against superbia !
Love
Luce
I think that in order to get to know your mind you have to practice meditation. Only then when you know your own mind you will be able to overcome its limitations and develop its full potential. And when you do it there is nothing to fear. Abyss or death can’t scare you. But in order to do it you need to look deeply into your own mind and this is possible only in meditation.
A very beautiful story showing the power of the mind over matter. It is the practice that gives us the skill, but it is the meditation and mastery of our Mind that gives us the Wisdom and ability to perform … miracles.
LOVE,
THELMA
I forgot to write …
That we also need a good instructor on our way.
If we practice meditation for example, if someone has done this
for years and years, they can easier see which technique that will improve our skills.
Then we don´t have to invent the wheel again ;-)
But how will we know when we found the right instructor?
In my case I go on my gutfeeling (intuition) and
personal chemistry.
And my believe is also that we can learn something from every person we meet :-)
To command the mind is to fully trust we are held tight and carried by the Lord at every second of our life, there were you are, where the finest archer is and where each and every one in this universe is.
Alexandra, you are so charming. *smiling @ you*
The power of thoughts is the key.
You can achieve everything you want if you decide to think
that nothing is impossible.
But it takes time to practice, and we need patience and don´t ever give up :-)
Per aspera ad astra :-)
Translation:Through the difficulites to the stars
You can be the master of your own life.
I like the story,but I think all stoties told by you are interesting.So,you could do the same with your bow?I hope so.When I can see you practising your archery?Pleassssssssssssse