Thursday, May 11, 2006

Conquer Haste

To follow is an excerpt from Zen in the Martial Arts, by Joe Hyams...a book I’ve read at least once a year for the past two decades:

I was having tea with Master Han in his office when the mailman arrived with a letter from the master’s family. Knowing he had been eagerly anticipating the letter, I paused in our conversation, expecting him to tear open the envelope and hastily scan the contents. Instead, he put the letter aside, turned to me, and continued our conversation. The following day I remarked on his self-control, saying that I would have read the letter at once.

“I did what I would have done had I been alone,” he said. “I put the letter aside until I had conquered haste. Then when I set my hand to it, I opened it as though it were something precious.”

I puzzled over this comment for a moment, knowing he meant it to be a lesson for me. Finally, I said I didn’t understand what such patience led to.

“It leads to this,” he said. “Those who are patient in the trivial things in life and control themselves will one day have the same mastery in great and important things.”

(FYI: The “Master Han” that Hyams refers to is Hapkido legend, Bong Soo Han)

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Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds

The incomparable Bob Marley died 25 years ago today…

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Posted on 05/11 at 04:24 AM
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