De-yi decided to take a stand for what he knew was right. He decided to stay, even though his brother wanted him to leave. For this defiance, De-xin beat him very, very badly. De-yi was finally forced to leave his home and become a traveling street beggar.
One day, while traveling in the Putian region of Fujian Province, he saw several Shaolin priests in town on an expedition to purchase food. He knew that the Shaolin monks were good in gongfu, and he thought that if he could learn gongfu, he could beat De-xin and regain the land that was rightfully his. He decided to follow the monks, and when they reached the temple he would request that they accept him as a student of gongfu.
When he arrived at the temple, he requested to see the Head Priest. The Head Priest welcomed him and asked why he had requested the meeting. De-yi told the Head Priest his sad story and asked to be taught gongfu so that he could regain his land.
The Head Priest looked at him, pondered for a few minutes, and finally said, “De-yi, if you are willing to endure the painfully hard training, then you are accepted as a student here.” With deep appreciation, De-yi knelt down and bowed to the Head Priest.
Early the next morning, De-yi was summoned to the backyard of the temple. The Head Priest was standing in front of a young willow tree, holding a calf. He said to De-yi, “Before you learn any gongfu, you must first build up your strength. To do this you must hold this calf in your arms and jump over this willow tree fifty times in the morning and fifty times in the evening. De-yi replied, “Yes, master. This is a simple task and I will do it every day.”
From then on, De-yi held the calf in his arms and jumped over the willow tree every morning and every evening. Days passed, weeks passed, months passed, years passed. The calf grew into a cow and the small willow tree grew into a big tree. Still, De-yi held the cow in his arms and jumped over the tree.
One day, he requested to see the Head Priest. He asked, “Dear Master, I have held the cow and jumped over the willow tree for three years already. Do you think I am strong enough to train gongfu?”
The Head Priest looked at him and the cow. He smiled and said: “De-yi, you do not have to learn anymore. You have completed your gongfu training. Your strength is enough to regain your lost land. You should take this cow home with you and use it to cultivate your land.”
De-yi looked at the Head Priest with surprise and asked: “If I have not learned any martial arts, what do I do if my brother comes to fight me again for my land?” The Head Priest laughed and said, “Do not worry, De-yi. If your brother comes to fight you again, simply pick up the cow and run towards him. There will be no fight.”
De-yi half believed the Head Priest, but he also thought that perhaps the Head Priest was joking with him. He took the cow and left the Shaolin Temple. When he arrived home, he started to cultivate his land.
De-xin soon discovered his brother’s return. He decided to beat up his younger brother again and teach him an unforgettable lesson. After that, De-yi would never dare to return. When De-yi came to the rice field, he saw his brother running towards him, shouting in anger.
When De-yi saw his brother running toward him, he remembered what the Head Priest had said and immediately picked up the cow and ran towards his brother. This surprised and shocked De-xin. He just could not believe that his brother possessed such strength. He turned around and ran away, never to return again.
From this story, I learned two lessons. The first is that you need patience and endurance to succeed. Great success always comes from many little efforts. The second lesson is that the best way to win a fight is without fighting. Often you can win a fight with wisdom, and this is better than beating up someone.
I remember that my White Crane master told me something that affected my perspective of Chinese martial arts completely. He told me that the goal of a martial artist’s learning was not fighting. It is neither for showing off nor for proving you are capable of conquering other people. He said the final goal of learning is to discover the meaning of life. Therefore, what I was learning from him was not a martial art, but the way of life. I could not accept this concept when I was young. However, now that I am much older, I can start to understand what he meant at that time.
In the last twenty years, I have had many questions in my mind. Why are we here? What do we expect to accomplish in our lifetime? Do we come to this life as just an animal, without a deep meaning, or do we come to this life to comprehend and to experience the deep meaning of our lives?
In my opinion, there are many ways of understanding the meaning of life. You can learn to play the piano with all of your effort (energy and time). From the learning process, you learn to know yourself and to discipline yourself. Hopefully, you achieve the capability to use your wisdom mind to control your emotional mind and reach a high stage of spiritual understanding of your life. Often, whenever I listen to music composed by Beethoven, Mozart, or another great composer or musician, I am so touched and inspired. I always wonder how these people could create such a spiritually high level of music that has influenced the human race for hundreds of years. I deeply believe that in order for them to reach such a deep level of understanding, they must have gone through the same process of emotional and physical self-conquest. I believe that through music, these composers comprehended the meaning of their lives. Of course, the meaning may well be beyond our understanding; however, their spirit has inspired following generations.
Naturally, you may also learn painting or any art, which can cultivate your spirit to a higher level. It does not matter which way you choose; in order to reach a high level of spiritual growth, you must face your greatest enemy. This enemy is you. The only way to defeat this enemy is through self-discipline and an understanding of life.
Have you ever thought about why the highest levels of Chinese martial arts were always created either in Buddhist or Daoist monasteries? Why has it been monks who developed all these deadly martial arts? One of the main reasons, as explained earlier, was self-defense against bandits. The other reason is that through martial arts training, you learn how to use your wisdom mind to conquer or control your emotional mind. This is one of the most effective ways of reaching a high level of spiritual understanding of life.
I also remember a story told to me by my master about a very famous archer, Yang, You-ji, who lived during the Chinese Spring and Autumn period (722-481 B.C.). When Yang, You-ji was a teenager, he was already well-known for his superior skill in archery. Because of this, he was very proud of himself. One day, he was in his study when he heard the call of an oil peddler just outside his house. Curious, he went out of his house and saw an old man selling cooking oil on the street. He saw the old man place the oil jar, which had a tiny hole the size of a coin, on the ground and then use the ladle to scoop a full measure of oil and pour it from chest height into the jar without losing a single drop or even touching the sides of the hole. Yang, You-ji was amazed at this old man’s steady hand and the accuracy with which he was able to pour the oil into the jar. He asked the old man: “Old man, how did you do that?” (To call an aged person old man in China is not impolite, but a sign of respect.) The old man looked at him, the well-known teenaged archer of the village, and said: “Young man, would you like to see more?” Yang, You-ji nodded his head.
The old man then asked him to go into the house and bring out a bench. The old man placed a Chinese coin that had a very tiny hole in the center for threading purposes, on the hole in the jar. Then, the old man ladled a full scoop of oil and climbed onto the bench. Standing on the bench, he poured the oil all the way down from such a high place, through the hole in the coin and into the jar. This time, Yang, You-ji kept his eyes wide open and was shocked at the old man’s amazing skill. He asked the old man: “How did you do that? I have never seen such an amazing thing before.” The old man looked at him and smiled. He said: “There is nothing but practicing.”
Suddenly,
