GROWTH
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A flock of cranes landed on a frozen winter lake, eager to spear the silvery fish moving beneath the clear sheet of ice. An ambitious young crane, eager to catch the largest fish, spotted a dark, rippling patch near the center of the lake. The other older, wiser cranes stood firmly near the reedy shore,…
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A merchant needed to cross a raging river to reach a golden market, and two builders offered their services. The first builder brought polished blueprints, grand calculations, and a bridge of gleaming glass. “My bridge is dazzling,” he boasted, “built for speed and grand appearances.” The second builder brought no blueprints, only calloused hands, a…
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A young farmer stood at the edge of his sprawling fields, watching the morning sky burn a cloudless, blinding white. The monsoon season was late, but the underground stream still fed his crops, and his household water jars were full to the brim. A traveler, weary and parched, staggered down the dusty road and collapsed…
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A young apprentice blacksmith stood before the forge, his arms covered in blistering red marks and minor burns. He flung his tongs down in frustration, his hammer clattering against the stone floor. “Master,” the apprentice cried, rubbing a smarting wrist, “every elder in the village warned me from the day I started: ‘If you play…
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A young zebra stood at the edge of a sun-baked watering hole, trembling as a pride of lions rested in the tall grass fifty paces away. The air was thick with tension, and the rest of the herd was pacing frantically, kicking up dust, snorting loudly, and shifting their weight in nervous panic. “We must…
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A young merchant sat by the village square, boasting to the crowd of his newfound wealth. “Yesterday I found a gold mine in the northern hills, and tomorrow I will buy half the province!” he shouted, dangling a heavy pouch of coins. Nearby, an old master potter sat quietly at his wheel, his hands caked…
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A flock of crows nested in a dead oak tree near a village. During a bitter winter, the villagers threw away an old, heavy wool blanket into the brush. An ambitious crow saw the blanket and thought, “This is the ultimate resource. If I drag this to our nest, we will never freeze again.” The…
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The Master asked the student, “A deer stops by the river and proclaims to the valley, ‘Look at my antlers, see how I leap, I am surely a deer!’ A monkey chatters from the branches, ‘Watch my tail, hear my voice, I am the king of the trees!’ But when the lion walks to the…
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A student stood in the center of the Master’s courtyard, holding a handful of heavy, dry seeds. The earth around them was cracked, barren, and scorched by weeks of summer heat. “Master,” the student said, frustration in his voice, “you tell me to plant, but the soil is dead and the sky holds no clouds.…
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A student asked his Master, “The mountain stream twists and turns, rushing over rocks, never resting day or night. Where is it going in such a hurry?” The Master replied, “It seeks the lowest place, where it can finally fall and be still.” The student said, “But when it reaches the great ocean, it is…
