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Showing posts from September, 2009

Hear the Unheard

Back in the third century there lived a King named Ts'ao. He had a son name Prince Tai. Since Tai was to succeed his father as King, the King wanted the Master Teacher Pan Ku to teach the boy the basics of being a good ruler. When the Prince arrived at the temple, the master Pan-Ku sent him alone to the forest. After one year, the prince was to return to the temple to describe the sound of the forest. When Prince Tai returned after a year, Pan Ku asked the boy to describe all that he could hear. "Master", replied the Prince, "I could hear the cuckoos sing, the leaves rustle, the humming bird hum, the crickets chirp, the grass blow, the bees buzz and the wind whisper and holler." When the Prince had finished, the master told him to go back to the forest to listen to what more he could hear. The Prince was puzzled by the Master's request. Had he not discerned every sound already ? For days and nights on end, the young prince sat alone in the forest listening,