Once Head Monk and Sensei went fishing with a fisherman in his boat. Shortly after they had settled into the lake, the fisherman caught two fish.
This was at about 10 am.
The fisherman then continued to fish till 6pm but caught no more fish.
Once they reached the shore, Head Monk told the fisherman, “It’s surprising that you caught two fish so fast, and then caught no fish at all.”
The fisherman kept quiet and bowed to Sensei.
Sensei smiled, clapped once and told Head Monk, “You did not notice; he stopped adding bait to the hook after he caught those two fish.”
Head Monk bowed to Sensei and to the fisherman and requested the fisherman to explain.
The fisherman said, “As a fisherman, it is my karma to fish throughout the day. It is the karma of the fish to offer themselves to me during the day. My needs are two fish a day. Even when the fish oblige me early, that does not stop me from doing my daily karma, after adjusting for my needs.”
Sensei clapped once more and said, “Effort & reward sometimes take time to coincide and sometimes happens instantly. That should have no bearing on making effort.”
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