Issue nº 43

Two stories about mountains

Here where I am
     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.

Contemplating the desert
     Three people passing in a small caravan saw a man contemplating the late afternoon in the Sahara desert, from the top of a mountain.
     - It must be a shepherd who has lost a sheep - said the first.
     - No, I don't think he's looking for anything, much less at sunset, when the view is hazy. I think he's waiting for a friend.
     - I guarantee that's a holy man, and is looking for enlightenment, - commented the third.
     They began to talk about what the man was doing, and became so engrossed in the discussion that they almost fought over it. Finally, in order to resolve the matter, they decided to climb the mountain and go to the man.
     - Are you looking for your sheep? - asked the first.
     - No, I have no flock.
     - Then you are surely waiting for someone - said the second.
     - I'm a lonely man who lives in the desert - was the answer.
     - Since you live in the desert in solitude, you must be a saint searching for God's signs, and are meditating! - said the third man, delighted.
     - Does everything on Earth have to have an explanation? Then I shall explain: I am merely looking at the sunset. Is that not enough to give sense to our lives?