The following story is adapted from The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff, p. 171, Penguin Books, 1992. There are several versions of this story, but this is one short and to the point.
An old man and his son lived in an abandoned fortress on the side of a hill. Their only possession of value was a horse.
One day the horse ran away. The neighbors came by to offer sympathy. “That is really bad!” they said. “How do you know?” asked the old man. “Perhaps it is not such a disaster,” he said, “we will wait and see.”
A few days later, the horse returned, bringing with it several wild horses. The old man and his son shut them all inside the gate. The neighbors hurried over. “That is really good!” they said. “How do you know?” asked the old man. “Maybe it is not so good,” said the old man.
The following day, the son tried riding one of the wild horses. The son fell off, and broke his leg. The neighbors came around as soon as they heard the news. “That is really bad!” they said. “How do you know?” asked the old man.
About a week later, the army came through, forcing the young local men into service to fight a far away battle against the northern barbarians. Many of them would never return. But the son could not go, because he’d broken his leg.
The Moral of the Story
What does this story have to do with Tai Chi Chuan? Obviously, it is not about Tai Chi Chuan, but it is about how to live a happy life. If we view everything that happens in life as either the worst or best thing that could happen, our life will be very uneven, with many highs and many lows – like a roller coaster ride. And we will be unhappy much of the time. We can’t foresee the end of the story, so why get too excited about any one part of the story? We should, like the old man, wait and see.
The Tai Chi Chuan Moral of The Story
Again, what does this have to do with Tai Chi Chuan? Only everything! Like life, the study of Tai Chi Chuan will have its ups and downs. Progress in Tai Chi is rapid at times, only to slow down and even stagnate, then later speed up again. It is best not to get too excited or too down over the vagaries of Tai Chi Chuan. Some days are better than others, even when you practice your form. The Tai Chi Classics speak of investing in loss. This means that “losing” is actually good because that is when you learn the most – when you improve the most. If your form is not as good one day, try to figure out why. You may learn something.
As you progress in your practice, you will begin to feel internal changes. Internal changes can be very thrilling to experience, but are often fleeting at first and sporadic at best. There is no sense in getting too excited about these sensations, nor too down when they literally go away after a few minutes (or even a few seconds). Push hands or sensing hands; which for those that are unfamiliar with the term, is practicing Tai Chi Chuan with a partner; requires you to keep calm and steady, or you will lose. It takes a long time to learn to “wait and see” – to not get excited while practicing push hands. But, it is the only way to progress. This is truly investing in loss.
Even as a martial art, Tai Chi Chuan demands that you remain calm, loose, balanced, comfortable, and to apply Tai Chi Chuan principles effortlessly and without becoming emotionally involved. This approach is the primary difference between internal martial arts like Tai Chi Chuan and external martial arts like karate, which are based upon strength, speed and maximum effort.
So, the next time an event makes you excited or down, ask yourself, do I know the whole story? Should I wait and see? Who knows how this will turn out?