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"If you are compassionate in your approach to all tasks in life, believing that all 'problems' contain valuable lessons, you will find peace of mind."
Dr. Lee Jampolsky
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THE SCHOOL OF NO SWORD
Another Zen story that teaches us ways to deal with conflict and bullying is "The School of No Sword". This Zen story begins as a master from the School of No Sword is traveling on a boat, along with many other passengers, from Okinawa to the mainland of Japan. Shortly after the boat leaves the dock in Okinawa, a rogue samurai warrior stands up and begins to pick fights with many of the people on the boat. He threatens the travelers in an attempt to get someone to fight him. After numerous failed attempts to provoke someone to fight, he notices the master sitting quietly on the other side of the boat. The samurai says, "Old man, I notice that you have a sword. I challenge you to a fight. I am a great warrior and I want to prove that I am better than you. Stand up and fight!" To this the master calmly replies, "I am not looking for a fight. In fact if you notice I do not have a sword but only a scabbard. I am sure that you are a great warrior, and I do not want any trouble, but I would ask you to leave these people alone because they have done nothing to you. You are being a disruption on this boat." The samurai angrily yells, "Make me, and draws his sword." Reluctantly, the master agrees that he will fight the samurai but only under his conditions. The master proposes that they take a small boat over to a nearby island and this is where they will fight. The samurai although confused by the request, does not question the old master since he is blinded by his own desire to fight and "prove himself" superior to all others on the boat. The two men proceed to get into the small row boat and paddle toward the island. As soon as they get into the shallow water close to the island the rogue samurai jumps out of the boat, runs onto the beach and screams, "Come on old man. I am going to strike you down." The master responds simply by turning his back to the young samurai and paddling back out to sea towards the ship. Thus, leaving the frustrated samurai stranded on the small island.
This classic Zen story teaches several methods of conflict resolution and teaches various ways to deal with conflict utilizing several of the twelve ways. Initially, the master refuses to fight. He then agrees with the bully that he is a fierce fighter and that he is afraid of him. Next, he uses what some would call trickery in order to get his opponent away from all of the innocent people on the boat and finally he refuses to fight. I would argue that this is a very compassionate way of dealing with this conflict. This bully was going to create conflict at all costs. By resolving the conflict in this manner, the master, who probably could have defeated this angry bully even without a sword, spared this wayward samurai's life and avoided any personal injury as well. In addition, he wisely protected all the innocent passengers on the boat. Probably most importantly, he created an opportunity for the samurai to learn a valuable life lesson by contemplating the outcome of this interaction with the master.
As we go through our lives we cannot avoid conflict and bullying but through mindfulness of the twelve ways we can compassionately dissolve conflict and create peace in our world today. Each of the twelve ways is useful under the right circumstance or situation. With this in mind we should continually strive to find the best solution by the most compassionate means possible.
KAIZEN!!!!
© 2009 Steven M. Erickson. The Center for Humane Living.
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