I have written to you in the past about the doubters, naysayers, nitpickers and Kool-Aid drinkers that pepper me daily with nasty-grams, bad wishes and other assorted naughty words.
This morning I ran across a passage in a book from the Order of Shaolin Ch’an that I think not only is one of the best attitudes/philosophies about success that one could have, but it’s also something many of my great Coaches, Mentors and Instructors have tried to teach me.
It also speaks directly to everyone out there that falls into the “Doubting Thomas” category.
I’m going to get to it in a minute, but before I do – let me ask you this; when reading it, please do two things:
First, please keep an open mind and leave religion out of it. This passage is about the message, not the messenger in the story, who is Buddha.
Second, please notice how the person asking the questions sounds just like you or I do when we are facing problems or challenges.
Here we go:
“The Buddha was instructing a young nobleman, who had asked how he could know that the Buddha was teaching the truth. The Buddha explained that what he taught was a way to discover truth for yourself. Still, the young man wanted to know if following this path would lead to a happy afterlife.
“If you had been shot in the arm with an arrow,” the Buddha said, “would you have plucked it out quickly? Or instead, would you inquire from whence the arrow came? Was it from an enemy archer or one of your own men? Would you then inquire if the archer was an untouchable, of military class, or a noble? Would you then require a list of his ancestors and parentage? Would you seek to know the materials that made up the bow and arrow? Would you only then, after gathering all these facts, pluck the arrow from your arm?”
“No, Master,” replied the young man. “But I do not understand your meaning.”
“My meaning is clear,” spoke the Enlightened One. “Life does not give us time to prepare all things before taking action. WE must take action as best we can, as we need to, and learn all else we need while we are ourselves in action. Don’t put off doing what you can and what you know that is important just because you don’t know the unknowable.”
Wow. If the Buddha was alive today, he may have put that in more modern terms that I have represented in four letters: GOYA.
Get Off Your Azz.
Get going. Move it. Attack-attack-attack. Most of what you need to learn you can pick up on the way but you have to be moving to pick it up.
Hey – Doubting Thomas – yeah, you. You can sit out there and wait for guarantees, rock-solid proof, enough photos to make a yearbook, the Head Abbot to show up at your door with me at his side as he explains through an interpreter that yes, he gave these ancient manuscripts to the Professor… or wait for Jesus to materialize in your living room, look you in the eye and say, “Dude, it’s okay. I did a background check on this Shaolin Secrets stuff and even my Dad wants a copy.”
Or you can GOYA – and get your hands on the Shaolin Secrets Volume I: Shaolin Feats of Martial Arts at http://www.shaolinsecrets.com and see for yourself just how powerful – and outright cool-as-hell – these manuscripts really are.
Do like Buddha says and get going.
Best,
William Huff
Oh, I almost forgot – it’s not just Volume I and Volume II. There’s also Shaolin Fighting Secrets, at http://www.shaolinfightingsecrets.com, which is based on the fighting principles contained in Shaolin Secrets Volume I: Shaolin Feats of Martial Arts, and Shaolin Stretching Secrets, available at http://www.shaolinstretchingsecrets.com, which is a course based on stretching and flexibility drills taken directly from the Shaolin Temple and the ancient training manuscripts.