Thursday, April 24, 2008

Ninety-nine failures

Tatsugami Roshi said, "A tiger catches a mouse with his whole strength." The tiger catches the mouse with the same intensity the way he catches a bigger animal. The tiger totally focuses on whatever action he is taking. He doesn't worry about the size of his "problem." The tiger does not think that because he didn't catch something the last time,he won't catch something the next.

Sometimes we all have difficulty practicing our respective arts. Dogen Zenji once proclaimed, "Hitting the mark is the result of ninety-nine failures." Failures are only a part of the process of success. "It's the last arrow that hits the mark, but only after ninety-nine failures." Failures are acceptable, and even valuable, as long as you keep them in perspective and know that they are a means to achieving your goal. The only real failure is not to shoot the one hundredth arrow.

Each time you practice, do your best. Be tiger-like in your effort. Physically and spiritually, you will benefit.

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