Under the Sword by Vernon Kitabu Turner

Author:Vernon Kitabu Turner [Turner, Vernon Kitabu]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Under the Sword
ISBN: 9781780282848
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 2012-04-11T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

I HAVE NO FRIENDS; I MAKE MY MIND MY FRIEND

Years ago I heard a story about a man and his son. The man placed his little boy on top of a dresser. Standing precariously on the high piece of furniture, the boy looked to his father.

‘Jump!’ the man said. ‘I will catch you.’ With the faith of a child, the boy launched himself into the air only to fall heavily upon the floor. Crying and wiping his eyes the boy stared in disbelief at his dad. ‘You didn’t catch me,’ he wept. ‘Let that be a lesson to you, son. You can trust no one.’

That story comes from Western tradition. Here is one from the East.

A master thief thought it was time to teach his son the craft. One night he took him out on a job. The target was a big house. They slipped into the residence with no problem. As the boy looked about for valuables his father made a loud noise, unbeknown to his son. Knowing the residents of the house would now investigate the noise, the boy looked for an avenue of escape.

‘Get in that trunk’, his father said. As soon as his son curled himself into the space, the father shut it and locked him in. Then he quickly slipped away without being noticed.

Later, at home, the father heard his son enter. His son was angry. ‘Why did you lock me in that trunk?’ he asked. ‘Never mind that. How did you escape?’

The son sat down and explained. ‘I heard people running around the house. I knew someone was near the trunk. I could see a flickering candle. I made a scratching sound like a rat. One of the servants opened the trunk. I quickly blew out the candle, shoved the servant aside and exited through a nearby window.’

The father was proud of his son. ‘You have mastered the art,’ he said.

In the ordinary world, letting your child fall or placing him or her in danger would be a form of abuse. For a Child of Heaven – that is, anyone who would taste Zen experience – it would be cruel to shelter the child. We are not addressing the ordinary way of looking at things here. This path is by nature extraordinary and the rewards of walking it are immeasurable. It is attainable, but the method of so doing is more triggers than principles.

You turn around and an object is hurtling through the air at you. With only a fraction of a second to act, what makes it possible for you to maneuver out of the way, deflect it or catch it, instead of being struck? What decides in that instant what action is appropriate? Suppose your reflexes are so fast you can catch a falling object without blinking … but it is a hot iron. Reflexes are not Zen. Real Zen is prajna paramita, instinctive wisdom. We cannot fake wisdom, and knowledge operates in the field of time. Here’s one more story along this line.

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