Zen story: The Zen master, who was once a great fighter

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The Zen master, Serbio Greshohe, had been a champion fighter, in his earlier life, but he had dropped all of this when he took up Zen. This was now his view on fighting. Fighting is about being a shadow, instead of the light. You cast darkness onto others, when you fight them. Being ordinary, and not trying to raise yourself above your ordinary self, releases you from pride. But, when you hold the ordinary in contempt, you drop even below the ordinary. Love lives ordinarily as itself. We should do the same, and never try to live love, with extras attached. Being humble in your ordinariness, allows love to remain love in you, in its fullest of ways. A samurai warrior came into the monastery, one day, and he picked a fight with the old master. Years before, the master had bested this man's father, in a fight. He wanted to avenge his father's loss. The old master told him, "l no longer fight, but if it is a fight you want, fight against yourself." "You have a way to go to get past this need to best others." "The best fighter fights no one, but loves all instead." The warrior bowed deeply. "Show me how," he said, and in years to come, this man would become the Zen master, head of this monastery too. He also gave up on his fighting ways. Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com The proud arrogant young warrior became the most humblest of gentle old Zen masters. Real Zen has that effect on you.