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YOU HAVE
TAUGHT ME ENOUGH
A know
it all
It so happened that on a
warm Spring day, the Lord of the castle received a
message stating that a very important visitor would be
arriving in three days time.
Knowing how important
this visit could be to the future of his family, and
anxious to make a very good impression on his guest, the
Lord asked his eldest son, who considered himself to be a
master of calligraphy, to make a special scroll to
commemorate this very important occasion.
The scroll was to be a
translation of his guests name, which meant "to live
one thousand years".
The Lord of the castle
knew that while his son was enjoyed calligraphy, he also
knew that his son's education was greatly lacking in many
other ways. So it was that he decided to send the most
learned teacher in his kingdom to assist his son, and to
make sure that the translation was flawless.
That afternoon the
teacher sat down beside the young man and taking up a
fine brush he dipped it in the wet ink, and then he drew
a single vertical line on a clean white piece of paper,
"this is the number one", the teacher said.
Dipping the brush once
again in the ink he then drew another identical line
beside the first, "this is the number two", the
teacher said.
Dipping the brush in the
ink for a third time he drew another identical line
beside the first two, "this is the number three",
the teacher said.
"I understand
completely, you have taught me enough, leave me now",
said the impatient young man.
Ignoring the teachers
plea that the lesson was not yet finished, the young man
quickly ushered him out of the room, and then locked the
door behind him.
For several days the
door remained locked, and there was no sign of the young
man.
On the appointed day the
Lord of the castle knocked loudly on his son's door,
"our guest will be here within the hour" he
shouted, when will you be finished the scroll?
"You have given me
an impossible task, I need more time" shouted his
son.
Unable to control his
anxiety the Lord forced open the door.
There before him sat his
son, the floor of his room covered in paper.
"I have been
writing for two days and two nights" he cried,
"and I am only up to the number 793" he
exclaimed.
"I need more time,
and more paper, why does our guest have to have such an
unbelievably long name"!!?
Had the impatient young
man not been so sure of himself, and had he waited but a
few minutes more, the teacher would have taught him that
the number 1000 in the guests language, was written using
only four stokes of the brush.
Remember
When
someone is willing to share their knowledge with you,
wait
until the lesson is over before you claim to know it all.
Part
the clouds - see the way.
"The
objective of karate-do is to contribute to the evolution
of
the human spirit through physical and mental training."
Sensei
Peter Lindsay
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