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Denny Doubted Himself
"There is nothing wrong with your math young student," The master ensures the student surprisingly, shifting his approach, calming his tone, and energizing his young student's innocent curiosity.
"I don't understand?" The student focuses directly at the master's eyes, curious if he is serious or joking at the student's easily manipulated naivete.
"Do not allow others, even me, to convince you to doubt what you know already to be true, or even how you think. There is no reason to limit your imagination with the input, influence, opinion, or pressure of others whose words may confuse you into doubting yourself," Zen Chen instructs his student Denny. "You seem confused. Isn't it possible the words I use to provide instruction are an obstacle to your learning process?"
The student eyes pop open as he shakes his head in disagreement as clearly as he can to ensure the master does not misinterpret his response.
"If you have performed the calculations correctly and concentrated on the problem from start to finish without any distractions, then you should be confident in your solution and stand behind it without allowing the words of others to cause you doubt," the master instructs.
"I think I understand master," the student acknowledges.
"Great," Zen Chen asserts, "We'll circle back to confidence and doubt when you are a little older. Let's continue discussing the value of being able to change when we want different results."
“But master, I wanted to know how to bend space and time around me,” the atudent objects.
“Oh right, you want to know how to bend space, but being able to bend space is not a concept you can know how to do. On the contrary, it is somwthing you can do when you’ve learned how to abandon the constraints of what you know.”
“So I have to not know anything?” the student asks.
“Of course not,” the master replies, “you must master the self then release yourself of the shackles formed by mastering the self. Learn but then learn ro unlesrn. But first, you must learn.”
“That doesn’t make sense master,” the student complains.
“It will make sense when you have already learned and mastered an art,” the zen master replies.
It doesn’t make sense (Link coming soon)
It does make sense. (Links coming soon)
Denny Learns Zen