Maybe There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. "Maybe," the farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed. "May be," replied the old man. The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. "Maybe," answered the farmer. The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. "Maybe," said the farmer.
Maybe not .... ______________________________________________________________________ __/\__ zendervish --- In [email protected], Edgar Owen <edgarowen@...> wrote: > > Nice PC story but much more likely historically that the soldier would simply > shoot the Zen guy dead... > > Edgar > > > > On Apr 28, 2012, at 11:03 AM, salik888 wrote: > > > A master of the tea ceremony in old Japan once accidentally slighted a > > soldier. He quickly apologized, but the rather impetuous soldier demanded > > that the matter be settled in a sword duel. The tea master, who had no > > experience with swords, asked the advice of a fellow Zen master who did > > possess such skill. As he was served by his friend, the Zen swordsman could > > not help but notice how the tea master performed his art with perfect > > concentration and tranquility. "Tomorrow," the Zen swordsman said, "when > > you duel the soldier, hold your weapon above your head, as if ready to > > strike, and face him with the same concentration and tranquility with which > > you perform the tea ceremony." The next day, at the appointed time and > > place for the duel, the tea master followed this advice. The soldier, > > readying himself to strike, stared for a long time into the fully attentive > > but calm face of the tea master. Finally, the soldier lowered his sword, > > apologized for his arrogance, and left without a blow being struck. > > > > __________________________________________________________ > > > > best wishes > > > > zendervish > > > > > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
