This is a zen story that I heard once:
Taste of Banzo's Sword
A young boy, Matajuro, was son to a great and famous swordsman. His father believed Matajuro to be poorly disciplined and felt his son would never become a master, and disowned him.
Matajuro embarked on a quest to become a great swordsman to honor his father, and found the famous Banzo. Banzo, too, had little faith that Matajuro would not be able to learn the way of the sword.
With enough persistence Matajuro convinced Banzo that he would work hard enough to become a master in maybe thirty years. Matajuro was ordered to never speak of nor touch a sword, instead, he washed the dishes, made his bed, cleaned the yard, and cared for the garden.
Three years passed like this, without any mention of the sword.
One day, as Matajuro was working on his daily tasks, Banzo crept up behind Matajuro and delivered a terrific blow with a wooden sword.
The following day, as Matajuro was cooking, Banzo crept up on Matajuro and struck him with the sword again, unexpectedly.
After that, day and night, Matajuro had to be vigilant about Banzo and when he would strike. There was never a time after when Matajuro would not think about the being struck unexpectedly. After this, he began to learn very quickly the way of the sword and made Banzo proud. Matajuro became one of the greatest swordsman in the land.
We all have our own interpretations of it, but I think it has a great meaning to it. The path we are on in order to learn and become proficient in, isn't always marked along the way. I think that we may be ready to take on a great challenge, but don't always realize the persaverance and patience required to accomplish the task. Maybe not even a great challenge, but just a simple one...
I wanted to start this blog to share little bits and pieces of my life that I have experienced so far, and the things that have yet to come too. Feel free to drop a comment or message or whatever, I'll be waiting.
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ps. The story is taken from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.
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