Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
A Carrot, An Egg and a Cup of Coffee A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity ... boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. "Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?" Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right. Power of the Mind Confucius
The next morning, at sunrise, the Master went to South Mountain where he had shot the tiger the night before. There he saw a large rock shaped like a tiger with his arrow embedded in it. At first he was surprised that his arrow had penetrated a hard rock, and then his mind became arrogant and he believed that no one could match his strength and skill with a bow and arrow. The Master tried to shoot an arrow into the rock a second time, but it struck the rock and bounced off to the ground. Last night, the Master was shooting from the level of the mind. In the life or death situation, he determined that his arrow should penetrate into the tiger’s bone, no matter how hard it was. The power of the mind was what put the arrow into the rock. If the mind is in original mind, we can display the whole power of our techniques. The ultimate aim of the martial artist is to reach this level of the mind-world. When this level is reached, we can truly be called Masters.
The Woodcutter The following old story is one of the best examples to understand harmony with nature. A famous thief escaped from jail and to escape the authority he had to hide in the woods. As he was running, he stumbled upon a lumberjack. This lumberjack had worked in the woods since he was very young and was an expert with the axe. The thief, feeling he had nothing to fear, let himself be seen by the lumberjack. The lumberjack recognized the thief immediately because he was so well known. As soon as lumberjack saw the thief, the lumberjack thought that “If I kill him and bring his head to the authorities, I will get a reward and never have to work in the forest again.” But the thief, being so good, had trained in reading people's minds and knew exactly what the lumberjack was thinking and told the lumberjack, "You are thinking about try to kill me now." The lumberjack was so stunned he did not know what to do. So he started cutting a tree again. He thought "How can the thief read my mind? I don't understand." The thief again told him what he was thinking. "You have given up to trying to kill me because you know I can read your mind now." By this time, the lumberjack was so stunned he just could not think and so he kept on cutting the tree. The thief started laughing, but suddenly, the lumberjack threw the axe, catching the thief on his head. The thief lived long enough to tell the lumberjack “I' could not I read your mind?" Then he died. The reason the thief could not read the lumberjack's mind was because the lumberjack had lived so long in the woods cutting the trees with the axe, that he had developed harmony between his mind, body and axe. He had so stunned by the thief's reading his mind that he couldn’t harmonize between his mind and body. But being in harmony with himself and his axe, before he knew what was doing, he had thrown the axe at the thief, killing him. The thief could not read the lumberjack's mind because the lumberjack did not know he was going to throw the axe until after he threw it.
Phil Miano |
| FOOD FOR THOUGHT |
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ONCE UPON A TIME… Martial arts instructors were tough, strong and intelligent. They taught the
arts because they wanted to uphold a tradition in the arts. They taught the arts because they
loved it and wanted to share with others. They taught the arts because they believed it was their
calling. They taught the arts to give something back to the community.
ONCE UPON A TIME...The measure of success of a martial art instructor was good, strong, smart,
tough, respectful students. It was not the size of the school or the flashiness of a car that
indicated success.
ONCE UPON A TIME… The dojang was a place of sweat, pain and sacrifice. It was a place where
strong moral character was forged in the fire of extremely hard work. It was not a social club
where one gathered to meet friends. It was not a place of music and health drinks where the
beautiful people or the "chill crowd" goes to be seen in the place to be.
ONCE UPON A TIME... Martial artists considered the training hall a temple dedicated to the
excellence of human personal achievement. It was not a cheap daycare center or a convenient
baby-sitter.
ONCE UPON A TIME...The martial arts were not for everyone; and were never intended for
everyone. If someone could not keep up with the class, if they could not "get" the techniques,
they were never promoted to the next level. Certainly the martial curriculum was never changed
to meet the slowest person’s needs!
ONCE UPON A TIME… Students had to actually know and perform the requirements for each belt
promotion. They were never helped at the test or told the answers. They didn't have black belts
standing around to help them remember particular techniques. Students were never promoted
just because they showed up. They had to be able to do the techniques and with a certain level
of excellence.
ONCE UPON A TIME... Promotion exams were not a major social event. Mothers, fathers,
grandparents, wives, boyfriends, and girlfriends were not seated around the testing area
watching the students perform. Testing was private; after all, it was possible to fail and have to
retake the test.
ONCE UPON A TIME... Everyone strove for improvement to reach that proverbial high bar. The bar
was never lowered so that everyone could rise over it. If you couldn't reach it, you worked
harder. We strove for excellence and were not satisfied with mediocrity.
ONCE UPON A TIME… Everyone was not so concerned with rank and titles. Everyone wasn't a
shihan, soke, Kwan jang nim, or grandmaster. They were simply SaBumNim. There certainly were
not any thirty year old grandmasters.
ONCE UPON A TIME… The black belt had meaning. A red belt was someone to be feared and
respected. A black belt was something else. A second degree was extremely difficult to get, not
even to mention a third or fourth degree. There were no 15 year old second degree black belts.
Becoming a black belt was a long hard road to travel and required extremely intensive study.
ONCE UPON A TIME… Uniforms (Dobok) were either white or black. You could identify the school
of a student by the simple patch on the uniform. The name of the school was not emblazoned
across every stitch of the uniform and it did not look like a reject from a Fredericks of Hollywood
catalogue or the costume of a cartoon super hero.
ONCE UPON A TIME… Techniques and philosophies worked and you knew they worked because
they were tested against peers in the dojang or at a tournament. Plain, simple and true; if your
philosophy did not work, you got your backside handed to you.
ONCE UPON A TIME… Martial arts magazines were filled with information about styles, systems,
training methods and tournaments. They were not ads or pseudo articles espousing the virtues
of a particular school.
ONCE UPON A TIME... If you were in martial arts you were part of a unique, small and elite society.
It was a society rich with history and traditions. You were proud to be a part of that society. You
were not belittled or degraded; people did not walk by the do-jang and make fake Bruce Lee
noises. You were respected and you earned that respect.
ONCE UPON A TIME… The air was cleaner, women were much prettier, flowers smelled fresher,
men were tougher and stronger, candy was much sweeter... or was it? Was it just the
perceptions of the world through the tinted eyes of youth? Maybe... it seemed so long ago, once
upon a time...
arts because they wanted to uphold a tradition in the arts. They taught the arts because they
loved it and wanted to share with others. They taught the arts because they believed it was their
calling. They taught the arts to give something back to the community.
ONCE UPON A TIME...The measure of success of a martial art instructor was good, strong, smart,
tough, respectful students. It was not the size of the school or the flashiness of a car that
indicated success.
ONCE UPON A TIME… The dojang was a place of sweat, pain and sacrifice. It was a place where
strong moral character was forged in the fire of extremely hard work. It was not a social club
where one gathered to meet friends. It was not a place of music and health drinks where the
beautiful people or the "chill crowd" goes to be seen in the place to be.
ONCE UPON A TIME... Martial artists considered the training hall a temple dedicated to the
excellence of human personal achievement. It was not a cheap daycare center or a convenient
baby-sitter.
ONCE UPON A TIME...The martial arts were not for everyone; and were never intended for
everyone. If someone could not keep up with the class, if they could not "get" the techniques,
they were never promoted to the next level. Certainly the martial curriculum was never changed
to meet the slowest person’s needs!
ONCE UPON A TIME… Students had to actually know and perform the requirements for each belt
promotion. They were never helped at the test or told the answers. They didn't have black belts
standing around to help them remember particular techniques. Students were never promoted
just because they showed up. They had to be able to do the techniques and with a certain level
of excellence.
ONCE UPON A TIME... Promotion exams were not a major social event. Mothers, fathers,
grandparents, wives, boyfriends, and girlfriends were not seated around the testing area
watching the students perform. Testing was private; after all, it was possible to fail and have to
retake the test.
ONCE UPON A TIME... Everyone strove for improvement to reach that proverbial high bar. The bar
was never lowered so that everyone could rise over it. If you couldn't reach it, you worked
harder. We strove for excellence and were not satisfied with mediocrity.
ONCE UPON A TIME… Everyone was not so concerned with rank and titles. Everyone wasn't a
shihan, soke, Kwan jang nim, or grandmaster. They were simply SaBumNim. There certainly were
not any thirty year old grandmasters.
ONCE UPON A TIME… The black belt had meaning. A red belt was someone to be feared and
respected. A black belt was something else. A second degree was extremely difficult to get, not
even to mention a third or fourth degree. There were no 15 year old second degree black belts.
Becoming a black belt was a long hard road to travel and required extremely intensive study.
ONCE UPON A TIME… Uniforms (Dobok) were either white or black. You could identify the school
of a student by the simple patch on the uniform. The name of the school was not emblazoned
across every stitch of the uniform and it did not look like a reject from a Fredericks of Hollywood
catalogue or the costume of a cartoon super hero.
ONCE UPON A TIME… Techniques and philosophies worked and you knew they worked because
they were tested against peers in the dojang or at a tournament. Plain, simple and true; if your
philosophy did not work, you got your backside handed to you.
ONCE UPON A TIME… Martial arts magazines were filled with information about styles, systems,
training methods and tournaments. They were not ads or pseudo articles espousing the virtues
of a particular school.
ONCE UPON A TIME... If you were in martial arts you were part of a unique, small and elite society.
It was a society rich with history and traditions. You were proud to be a part of that society. You
were not belittled or degraded; people did not walk by the do-jang and make fake Bruce Lee
noises. You were respected and you earned that respect.
ONCE UPON A TIME… The air was cleaner, women were much prettier, flowers smelled fresher,
men were tougher and stronger, candy was much sweeter... or was it? Was it just the
perceptions of the world through the tinted eyes of youth? Maybe... it seemed so long ago, once
upon a time...
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