Pride
can
bring
Defeat
(Excerpt from Seeds of a Hermit, by Don Baird: All Rights Reserved – Ó Copyright 1986)
This is another one to ponder in meditation to begin to understand its deeper meanings. Thoughts such as this are ones to be learned from the inside out rather than simply being taught to you.
I like the fact that you describe the learning process as a growth instead of something that you build onto. Where when you “build” something you add on to an existing structure, but when something “grows” it moves from the inside out. That growth takes place beyond where we can see it, but if we are patient, we will notice the fruits of those labors.
Thanks!
Yes. This is a part of the mystery of Kung Fu. At first, it seems everything is learned from the outside in. But, later down the road, it begins to grow from the inside — deeper understandings… greater insights and eventually improved performance — from the inside out.
I have found that as soon as I get to be a little too prideful about my kung fu- or anything in life, for that matter- something or someone comes around to put me back to the right size/right ego.
This statement holds true, and should be applied in any situation in ones life.