Paths of Tao
Friday, 18. May 2007, 02:54:39
The Shields ~ Derek Lin for the full article, the story is below.
Tao Living
The Shields
by Derek Lin
A warrior was out for a stroll one sunny day. As he made his way through the woods, he saw another warrior also taking a walk. They greeted one another in friendly fashion.
Then, a glint of reflected light caught their eyes. They saw two shields lying on the ground not too far away. One was silver and the other was gold. Even from a distance they could tell that the shields were of extremely high quality.
"What a find!" the first warrior exclaimed. "I shall take the golden shield. You can have the silver." He started toward them.
"Nay, I saw them first. The golden shield belongs to me. I can grant you the silver shield." The second warrior walked faster toward the shields, and the first warrior picked up speed to match.
"Thank you for your generosity, but it is not necessary. I voiced my claim before you did, thus the golden shield is mine by right. You should be glad I am willing to let you have the silver." They both began jogging.
"Your claim does not matter, for I outrank you. Therefore it shall be as I command: Gold for me, silver for you." It became a race. Both men ran full-tilt toward the shields.
"Your rank means nothing, for we serve different lords. These woods belong to my lord. I shall retrieve the golden shield for him; the silver shield is a fitting tribute for your lord." It was becoming apparent that they were well matched in speed. Neither would get to the shields before the other.
"These woods belong to no one. I am the superior swordsman and I say the golden shield is mine. If you wish to contest my claim, you must face my sword." The warrior drew his weapon, and his opponent did likewise.
A fierce battle ensued. The two warriors discovered that they were also well matched in swordsmanship. Neither could gain the upper hand over the other. It became a contest of endurance – the first to tire and falter would lose the fight, and thus the golden shield.
Unfortunately, the two warriors were also well matched in stamina. After fighting for more than an hour, both became equally exhausted. Still they persisted, until neither one could remain standing any longer. Both collapsed to the ground at the same time, panting and gasping for breath, but still eyeing each other warily.
They looked at the cause of their conflict. From this lower perspective, they could see the shields edgewise. The golden shield looked like it had a silver side underneath, and the silver shield...
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" One of the warriors asked the other.
"We should take a closer look."
"No tricks."
"Agreed."
In unison, each warrior reached out with his sword to flip a shield over. It was as they suspected: The two shields were identical – gold on one side and silver on the other!
Maybe if these guys ahd studied chapter 67 in more detail then they would have understood the situation instinctivly, and how to act in it.
Chapter 67
Everyone in the world calls my Tao great
As if it is beyond compare
It is only because of its greatness
That it seems beyond compare
If it can be compared
It would already be insignificant long ago
I have three treasures
I hold on to them and protect them
The first is called compassion
The second is called conservation
The third is called not daring to be ahead in the world
Compassionate, thus able to have courage
Conserving, thus able to reach widely
Not daring to be ahead in the world
Thus able to assume leadership
Now if one has courage but discards compassion
Reaches widely but discards conservation
Goes ahead but discards being behind
Then death!
If one fights with compassion, then victory
With defense, then security
Heaven shall save them
And with compassion guard them
To be with compassion is to have real courage and self knowledge to really see all beings as equal, to be with humility to ot put oneself forward to be as the water in chapter 8 to nourish those around us, to be with moderation/conservation to understand when to act when not to act, to have all three together is true self, is to act as one with Tao.
If we butt heads what do we acheive but sore heads? If we are comapssionate because we thing we must be, then we are still satifying the self not being with the true self, if we put ourselves as being better than others then we diminish ourselves and them and cause rancour.
perhaps these teachings can ahev a practical real world application if we but take the time to cultivate Tao every day?
love and peace
becca
WIDGETIZE
Anonymous # 18. May 2007, 16:59
"If we butt heads what do we achieve but sore heads?"
:)
That's very similar to something I once read in the I Ching: "He who butts his head against things does damage to himself."
Just wanted to note a connection. :)
Peace,
Aalar :)
Becca James # 18. May 2007, 19:27
even more interestingly i have not read the i ching.
beccaxx
Anonymous # 19. May 2007, 12:05
Becca, you're just connected, that's all. :D So I'm not surprised to find connections in your writing to I Ching and other Taoist works. :) It's actually rather inspiring!
Peace,
Aalar :)