In one fable from business, a Chinese man and a man from the United States meet to discuss a potential deal. The American man presents his case with great enthusiasm, explaining all the elements and trying to sell the Chinese fellow on the benefits. The Chinese simply waits patiently, listens and says “Yes.”
By the end of the meeting, the American has the impression that he was in control the whole time. Yet the Chinese is the one who leaves with a lot more understanding and knowledge.
Many things are revealed to us, when we exercise observation and discernment, as in this story from a Monk Friend:
A monk walks in a little late to the evening chant. Due to where he stands and sits in the hall, he can’t easily see the page number of the prayer books of his brothers and sisters, yet after a few moments he has opened his book to the correct page and is chanting along.
After the chanting, a brother approaches the monk, astounded. He says “You couldn’t possibly have seen the page number from where you stood. This is incredible. You must have used the Eye of the Buddha to know the correct page.”
Our monk says no, actually what he did was quite simple. He observed that they were about one third of the way through the chant book, and while he couldn’t read the text, he could clearly see its shape. He found the page with the correct outline, listened to the chanting, and joined in from that spot.
