Obsessing

Tanzan and Ekido, two monks,  were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling. Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.

“Come on, girl,” said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. “We monks don’t go near females,” he told Tanzan, “especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?”

“I left the girl there,” said Tanzan. “Are you still carrying her?”

At the end of every training session we remove our sashes, quickly fold them, and tuck them into the back of our uniform. We do this as a symbol of leaving any negativity we have behind. We can become frustrated with ourselves or with others. If we don't let it go, we carry it with us.

I often carry with me embarrassing moments in my life. When I say dumb things they haunt me for years. This is a perfect example of how we can take our Kung Fu out of the Kwoon and into our every day life. Just as I leave negativity behind at the end of a training session, so also I should leave negativity, self doubt, guilt, anger, and other destructive thoughts and emotions behind in everyday life.

Be more like Tanzan.