 The Parable of the Archer There once was a young archer, a champion of bows and arrows with great technical skill. He could shoot an arrow directly hitting a bullseye, and then shoot another arrow that split the first one in half. The young man was quite boastful about it as well. He demonstrated this bullseye after asking an old Zen master, who was known for his archery skills, to challenge him. He thought he could win no problem. The old man simply waved his hand and beckoned for the young man to follow him. Curious about the master's intent, the young man followed. The master let him high up into the mountains and took him to a spot where two cliffs met and were connected by a very old and unstable log in between them. This log was surely unfit to stand on, yet the master leapt onto it with grace. He stood in the middle of it and drew out his bow. He aimed for a tree far away on the other side of the cliff and hid it straight in the middle. As he gracefully stepped off the log, he told the young champion that it was now his turn. The man looked down to the seemingly bottomless cliffside and became incredibly wary. He could not make himself step onto the precarious tree trunk. The master sensed his apprehensiveness and told the young man, You have much skill with your bow, but you have little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot. The young man was unable to challenge the old master, who earned such a reputation through mastering every element of his craft, both mind and body. This parable is ultimately about mind over matter and the interconnected nature of the two. We may think we are skilled in a certain aspect of something, but there is always more than meets the eye. Also present is the idea of humility and knowing once place in the grander scheme of things. While the young archer is unquestionably talented, there is still someone above him in experience and prowess. To quote Qui-Gon Jin, there's always a bigger fish. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it provides us with an opportunity to learn and experience new things in our lives and our own crafts, and above all, an opportunity to always continually progress. The archer is an expert in his own world, on solid ground, but when he is taken out of his comfort zone and exposed to a new environment, instead of approaching the situation humbly, he is frightened and apprehensive. While this certainly is a valid response, it is not the only one. By remaining open to new experiences and training the mind to stay calm in the face of fear and nervousness, perhaps we can approach a situation where we are arguably at a seemingly bottomless cliffside, and instead see it as an opportunity to progress and learn more about our approach to life. The master's wisdom rings true even today, as at the base level, everything, even physical sensations, are simply electrical signals interpreted by the mind and converted into feelings and emotions. As with anything, it is arguably the mind that makes our decisions and controls how we handle experiences. At the end of the day, this parable teaches us that it is just as important to master our own thoughts and emotions as it is to master something in the physical world, as the old saying goes, as above, so below.