Throwback Thursday - Warrior's Mind, Customer Mind
Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on July 14, 2004.
When the warrior builds a castle, their main concern is where are the weak points, where is the castle most vulnerable to attack? When a smith forges a sword, their main concern is if it will not bend or break and cut well. When an artist fashions a dish or bowl, their main concern is that it does not break easily or crack. In the same way, when a warrior, or true student, trains themselves, they are most concerned with their own weak points and where they are vulnerable. This is what a true student endeavors to learn about in their practice.
A customer mind is quite the opposite. The customer only wants to hear good things about themselves - whether they are true or not. They want to know that they are right - whether they are right or not. Most are only concerned with money, fame, or personal comfort, whether they have earned it or not.
The Path of the warrior is very different from the way normal people live.
To teach people with the "customer" mind, teachers have to smile and grin and pretend their "customers" are good. To teach a warrior, we must be wise and astute enough to bring out all of their weak points so they know exactly where they stand in the world so that they can become stronger.
To stand at the top of the world is the work of a mediocre mind. To stand exactly where one really stands in the world is the true work of a true seeker of knowledge.
I am a bad teacher - I always get mixed up, who are the students and who are the customers! Haha!