Although he passed away in 1973, Alan Watts has become a huge influence in my life over the last couple of years. His seemingly never-ending catalog of lectures posted on YouTube accompany me on many nights of the week and set me up for bed in a very relaxing way. Since he has such a following, not only are his one-hour to two-hour lectures posted, but there are tons of beautifully produced videos (one of my favorites posted above) filled with dramatic visual displays that rest behind short clips of his insightful, inspiring and soul-awakening lectures. I highly recommend them.
Recently, I came across the video (posted below) titled, "Alan Watts - Zen Tales," where among many others he reveals the following short Zen story:
When in the Zen swordsmanship school, at the beginning of your training the master will have you walk around the house doing various chores on a daily basis. The master will have a bamboo sword used to make the pain manageable when he surprises you unexpectedly with attacks. Once these attacks come you are expected to defend yourself with whatever it is you are handling, whether its a broom, pan, cushion, etc.
The dilemma that you find yourself in is that if you go to work everyday looking over your shoulder constantly trying to plan where the next strike will come from, you will find that you will always be outwitted. The clever master will always have a leg up on you as he will always find a way to come from an unexpected location.
The student will eventually come to a conclusion that the constant planning and looking over his shoulder is not the solution. He will learn that the necessity of spontaneity in fencing is that if he has to stop and think about how he is going to respond to a certain attack, it is too late. Instead, the best outcome is to quit planning, focus on his chores mindfully, and to react as the attack comes spontaneously. Once this happens the student starts to walk around nice and relaxed with an attitude that if the master attacks, he attacks. And once this unexpected hit is delivered the student is at ease, calm, and can react immediately like the sound that comes from two hands clapping.
I notice more and more in my life that when I try to force something it seems to cause nothing but stress and confusion -- not to mention it can be misguiding. The mental wear-and-tear of forcing prevents me from moving smoothly and naturally throughout my day, however, when I pay more attention to my breath and moving through situations based on feel and less to my rational thinking, it allows my intuition to surface which guides me down the path of least resistance. Zen masters will call this flowing downstream.
Flow downstream today.
By Stephen DeMent
