True Skill
INSPIRATIONAL, 18 Sep 2017
Dietrich Fischer – TRANSCEND Media Service
The yogi Raman was a true master of the art of archery. One morning, he invited his favorite disciple to watch a display of his skill. The disciple had seen this more than a hundred times before, but he nevertheless obeyed his teacher.
They went into the wood beside the monastery and when they reached a magnificent oak tree, Raman took a flower which he had tucked in his collar and placed it on one of the branches. He then opened his bag and took out three objects: his splendid bow made of precious wood, an arrow and a white handkerchief embroidered with lilacs. The yogi positioned himself one hundred paces from the spot where he had placed the flower. Facing his target, he asked his disciple to blindfold him with the embroidered handkerchief. The disciple did as his teacher requested.
“How often have you seen me practice the noble and ancient sport of archery?” Raman asked him.
“Every day,” replied his disciple. “And you have always managed to hit the rose from three hundred paces away.”
With his eyes covered by the handkerchief, the yogi Raman placed his feet firmly on the ground, drew back the bowstring with all his might ‑ aiming at the rose placed on one of the branches of the oak tree ‑ and then released the arrow. It whistled through the air, but it did not even hit the tree, missing the target by an embarrassingly wide margin.
“Did I hit it?” asked Raman, removing the handkerchief from his eyes.
“No, you missed completely,” replied the disciple. “I thought you were going to demonstrate to me the power of thought and your ability to perform magic.”
“I have just taught you the most important lesson about the power of thought,” replied Raman. “When you want something, concentrate only on that: no one will ever hit a target they cannot see.”
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Dietrich Fischer (1941-2015) from Münsingen, Switzerland, got a Licentiate in Mathematics from the University of Bern 1968 and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from New York University 1976. 1986-88 he was a MacArthur Fellow in International Peace and Security at Princeton University. He has taught mathematics, computer science, economics and peace studies at various universities and been a consultant to the United Nations. He was co-founder, with Johan Galtung, of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment in 1993.
Excerpted from Dietrich Fischer’s Stories to Inspire You – TRANSCEND University Press-TUP.
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 18 Sep 2017.
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