One of the most famous sailors of the world visited the Monastery this morning. The sailor had been a monk in the Monastery a few years back.
Inquisitive Monk asked the Sailor, “Sir, what makes you win so many difficult races? What is the secret to your success?”
The Sailor smiled and asked Sensei if he could lead the monks into the garden. Sensei agreed. It was a nice windy day. Once the monks had assembled in the garden, the Sailor gave the monks a few silk handkerchiefs and asked each of them to hold the handkerchief against the wind and judge for themselves the direction in which the wind was blowing.
The monks agreed that the wind was blowing from the East.
The sailor said, “Your eyes see the truth that is there.”
Next, the sailor gave the monks some more silk handkerchiefs, and asked each one to tie the handkerchief over his eyes. The Sailor asked the monks to walk about a bit and change places. After the monks had shuffled themselves, the Sailor asked the monks to once again judge for themselves, which direction the wind was blowing from.
The monks kept quiet. Science Monk said, “This is an incorrect question, because our blindfold prevents us from getting our bearings right. The wind direction can be stated only after we know which direction we are standing in.”
The Sailor said, “Your eyes cannot see the truth, even though you know it’s there.”
Once back in the meditation hall, the Sailor said, “I was just an ordinary sailor until I came to the Monastery, where Sensei taught me this ‘double handkerchief’ wind meditation. After mastering it, I returned to sailing and invented unique sails that I mounted on my boat. My new knowledge and these unique sails won me a few races.”
Sensei clapped twice and said, “The wind blows in the direction it chooses to. Accept that direction, to find your own direction. Do not wait for things to blow in your direction, because they rarely will.”
*****
