Saturday, September 17, 2011

Zen Stories # 17 - Practice makes Perfect

A dramatic ballad singer studied under a strict teacher who insisted that he rehearse day after day, month after month the same passage from the same song, without being permitted to go any further. 

Finally, overwhelmed by frustration and despair, the young man ran off to find another profession.
One night, stopping at an inn, he stumbled upon a recitation contest.

Having nothing to lose, he entered the competition and, of course, sang the one passage that he knew so well.

When he had finished, the sponsor of the contest highly praised his performance.

Despite the student's embarrassed objections, the sponsor refused to believe that he had just heard a beginner perform.

"Tell me," the sponsor said, "who is your instructor? He must be a great master."

The student later became known as the great performer Koshiji.

Reflection: The ballad singer practiced so much that it became a part of him. To really master something, it has to become part of you. Hard work will always pay off sometime in the future. Reminds me of the movie “The Karate Kid”.

Cheers!

1 comment:

  1. That's very nicely presented over here. Last year I saw a documentary where Girish Karnad also appeared in that (Same kind of karate kid), will share you with clippings sooner. So nice to see that documentary.
    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete

I would love to hear from you! I read each and every comment, and will get back ASAP.