This morning, Sensei introduced an interesting guest to the monks. The man was brawny and had big, bulging muscles. His hair – a crew cut and he wore a tight black t-shirt, paired with tight black jeans. The scars on his face and the large dragon tattoos on his hands made him stand out.
The man addressed the monks, “I am the head bouncer at a famous night club. I joined there as a trainee and now head a team of four bouncers. I like bouncing people and I am very good at my job.”
“A few weeks ago, I began noticing this man who would come alone, wearing dark glasses and a black hat. He would sit in a corner. My extensive training did not help me figure out this man. He was calm, measured and relaxed. Girls would invite him to dance but he would decline. This man began to bother me. I wondered why he paid high entrance charges to sit inside my night club. I kept a close watch on this mystery man.
On a Monday night (when all my bouncers take their weekly off), I began to notice big trouble brewing. There was a group of seven men who were misbehaving with girls, yelling and refusing to pay their bills. I could not have handled them all. This was a nightmare coming true. The drunk men looked around for bouncers … and when they saw no one, they just went berserk.
Just that moment, I saw Mr. Mystery Man (who was in the club that night) walk up to the men, place his hand on their shoulders and say something to each of them. Whatever this man said seemed to work like magic. The troublesome men calmed down, we had a peaceful night.
Just as Mr. Mystery Man was leaving, I asked him who he was. He gave me an address and this is the address I have come to today. That mystery man was Head Monk.”
Head Monk clapped two times (a bit loudly) and said, “I went up to the men and introduced myself to them as a bouncer. They laughed and I laughed with them. When they waited for me to handle them, I told them that I was not a physical bouncer but a mental bouncer and would work on them after they had finished creating trouble. My job was to get rid of their inner trouble, after they finished causing outside trouble. When the men heard this, they sobered down a bit. Just enough, to not cause trouble.”
Sensei softly clapped thrice and said, “Become a bouncer of your mind. Think of thoughts, emotions and desires as guests of your mind. Monitor them and bounce them off the minute they misbehave. Don’t let them ruin the most beautiful club in the world – the mind.”
*****