The Cooking Oil

Una historia de "Tao Living" referente a la filosofia del taoismo en el cual me he interesado por hace ya un tiempo y creo k en particular esta historia se aplica muy bien a la manera en la k actividades como el Parkour o algunas artes marciales te cambian la manera de ver tu vida y los elementos en ella.
estoy trabajando en la traduccion pronto la posteare pro mientras aqui dejo la version en Ingles:

The Cooking Oil:

Once upon a time in ancient China, there was a young disciple who studied the Tao at a remote temple. One day, the master said to him: "We are running low on cooking oil. I want you to go into town and buy some."
The boy was excited, because this was the first time the master charged him with a task. Finally, he thought to himself, the master can see that I am ready for responsibilities, just like the grown-ups!
He took the coins from the master and went into town. The path was familiar to him, for he had made the trip with the master many times. He purchased a large bowl full of cooking oil, and then he started back.
He quickly realized that his speed was greatly reduced. He needed to slow down and walk carefully in order to avoid spilling the oil. He focused his gaze on the bowl and concentrated, willing the oil to stay in. He thought about the people the temple waiting for him to bring back the oil. He told himself sternly that he must not fail.
The road was uneven. His set his right foot on a loose pebble and stumbled. Some oil splashed out as he compensated for the unexpected movement. Moments later, he stubbed his toes on a rock. It was painful, but again he adjusted himself to avoid too much spillage.
He decided to walk on grass instead of continuing to risk the dirt road. It seemed to work, but then his right foot slipped on a wet spot, nearly costing him his balance. He recovered, only to plant his left foot in a pile of cow dropping. He tried to shake it off, rubbing his foot against a tree, all the while keeping his intense focus on the oil. Every time more of it spilled out, he gritted his teeth in despair.
After a long time, he finally made it back to the temple. He presented the bowl to the master with shame, because there was only a little bit of oil left.
The master listened to the disciple's report and considered the matter. Then, he gave the disciple more coins: "We still need cooking oil, so you must go into town again. It will be your opportunity to make amends. This time, I have special instructions for you. Hold the bowl with care, but do not look at it directly. Take the same path back as you have always done before. Keep your eyes on the road the way you usually do. If you want to look to the left or right, then do so exactly as you normally would. Do not stare at the bowl even if you suspect the oil may be spilling. Just keep your hands steady."
The disciple did exactly as he was told. He made it back to the temple in much less time. When he handed the bowl over to the master, he saw that only a small amount had spilled out. Puzzled, he asked: "Master, why is it that I did so much better this time?"
The master smiled: "As soon as you figure it out, you will know the secret of living in the Tao."
This story illustrates how to act in accordance with the Tao by showing two ways to advance toward a goal. The first is the way of tension and strife. Like the disciple decreasing speed and increasing vigilance, when we face an important task, we often slow down and tense up. We strive to put every ounce of effort into it.
This didn't work well for the disciple. The obstacles on his way back to the temple gave him much trouble. The same is true in life - the more badly we want something, the more tightly we grasp on to the objective, the more we encounter difficult challenges. The loose pebbles are the little surprises that keep popping up; the toe-stubbing rocks are the problems that cause mental anguish; the wet spots are the tricky parts where mistakes are likely; and the cow droppings are the bureaucratic people who seem to delight in blocking progress.

We struggle against these difficulties. Like the disciple adjusting his movements and recovering his balance, we try hard to handle the surprises, bear the pain, correct our mistakes, and appease the bureaucrats. But, like the oil spilling out of the disciple's bowl, each battle takes a toll. In the end, we realize that we have to lower expectations and settle for less.
Most people will probably blame poor results on the external factors, but the story suggests something else as the true cause. What makes us to grasp on too tightly, or want something too badly? Is it nervousness? Anxiety? Fear? The teachings of the Tao gets to the bottom of it and points to the mindset of gain and loss.

The disciple started on the wrong foot when he let his mind dwell on the possible gain and potential loss. This generated fear that things might go badly, and the fear in turn made him anxious and nervous. He focused so much on the bowl that he was not able to pay the appropriate attention to his surroundings. It became a chain reaction of cascading failures.
The master taught the disciple a better way. It wasn't to give up getting the oil, which was still a necessity; nor was it some esoteric technique to empty the mind of all thoughts. It was a specific technique from Tao cultivation called the ordinary mind. It is the best way to achieve objectives in accordance with the Tao, and there are three keys to it:

1. Simplicity

The first key is keeping it simple. The master told the disciple to take the same path he usually took and to look around in any direction as he normally would. For us, this means keeping everything related to an objective the same, to maintain the familiarity and comfort level. Avoid unnecessary changes - they make everything more complicated and potentially more disruptive.
The disciple treated his second trip back to the temple as nothing special, just one of many trips. We can do the same thing with any particular task. The ordinary mind excels in completing ordinary work without drama or fanfare. There are no crazy stunts or risky meneuvers – just ordinary brilliance. The last-minute home run and the sudden stroke of genius work well in movies, but in real life it is sticking to what you know that brings out your natural excellence.

2. Awareness

The second key is becoming aware of the situation in its totality. The master told the disciple to avoid staring at the bowl. Establishing and maintaining an overall awareness requires that you let go of intense focus on any one thing and widen your senses in all directions.
This is not a trance-like state. It is relaxed but alert, so that nothing escapes your notice. It is also not a careless or sloppy frame of mind. It allows for concentration without sacrificing peripheral perception, so that you are still aware of all potential obstacles, thus making it easy to navigate around them.

3. Trust

The third key is the most crucial of all. It is about trusting yourself. The disciple did not have this trust initially. He felt as if he needed to watch over himself to make sure he did not make mistakes. This only made him stressed, apprehensive, and ultimately less effective.
The disciple's self-monitoring was not necessary. He already knew the road back to the temple quite well. Similarly, you already know the best way to accomplish your goal. You have an innate intelligence that has everything it needs to hit the ball out of the park. You only have to place your trust in it. Refrain from second-guessing yourself, and stay out of your own way.
Wonderful things happen when you are able to use the ordinary mind skillfully and consistently. The disciple was able to deliver more oil in less time and with less effort. The same will be true for you as you work in accordance with the Tao. Your can radically improve your performance, not by doing more and trying harder, but by doing less and relaxing more.
As the master told the disciple, figuring out the difference between the two would reveal the secret of living in the Tao. In this context, the oil isn't just the necessities of life. It is also the goodness and happiness that we want to maximize. Following the master's instructions means you end up with more of the oil, instead of spilling too much of it along the way.
This, then, is the secret: when we live in the Tao, it is the ordinary mind that delivers extraordinary results.

By Derek Lin

Palabras que encajan perfectamente a mi actual vision de Vida

“I am learning to understand rather than immediately judge or to be judged. I cannot blindly follow the crowd and accept their approach. I will not allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation. Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I have come to understand that life is best to be lived and not to be conceptualized. I am happy because I am growing daily and I am honestly not knowing where the limit lies. To be certain, every day there can be a revelation or a new discovery. I treasure the memory of the past misfortunes. It has added more to my bank of fortitude.”

"Estoy aprendiendo a entender mas que inmediatamente juzgar o ser juzgado. No puedo seguir ciegamente a la multitud o aceptar que se acerque. No me permitire participar en el juego habitual de manipular el papel de la creacion. Afortunadamente para mi , mi autoconocimiento ha trascendido eso y he llegado a comprender que la vida es mejor vivirla y no conceptualizarla. Yo soy feliz por que estoy creciendo diariamente y honestamente no conociendo donde reside el limite. Para estar seguros , cada dia puede haber una revelacion o un nuevo descubrimiento. Yo atesoro las memorias de los ultimos infortunios. Eso le ha añadido mas fuerza a mi banco de fortaleza."

Viajes, Viajes y mas Viajes

Continuando con mi idea de viajar y conocer mas gente y lugares en mexico , ahora despues del fantastico viaje que tuve con grandes amigos Daer, Tocha, Helu, Sweet y Renata a la Huasteca Potosina y Monterrey el cual describire algunas experiencias acontinuacion jeje ..Ahora esta semana tambien recien llegado del df esta semana pasada toca el turno de visitar la ciudad de Morelia llegando el sabado 18 de abril y regresando a SLP el 19 o 20 , sera un viaje corto pero se que dejara muy buenas experiencias.

Pues con relacion a los viajes pasados y el primer aniversario del grupo realmente kedo muy agradecido con toda la gente k asistio a nuestro pequeño festejo que mas k festejo fue una reunion a nuestra manera jaja para compartir y conocer gente nueva que no habiamos tenido oportunidad de platicar ni conocernos. El primer dia pues recibimos a los carnalitos de UR en la central muy temprano y con lagañas en los ojos jaja para de ahi descansar un poko y luego llevarlos a entrenar un rato al centro de la ciudad . Al siguiente dia fuimos a la reunion con motivo al primer año de ser fundado Balams Parkour y fueron muchas personas de grupos locales de SanLuisPotosi como Puntia Ficus y AirRunners , a pesar de que nos corrieron de algunos lugares del centro la pasamos muy bien ya despues que llegamos a Zona Universitaria el ambiente estaba mas integrado y pudimos platicar y conocer mas a las personas que asistieron al entrenamiento . Al siguiente dia tuvimos nuestro entrenamiento habitual con la pequeña diferencia k ahora asistieron de nueva cuenta varios integrantes de los demas grupos de SLP y UR practicamente para decir adios y partir al siguiente dia a la HUasteca Potosina =D.

LLegando a la central camionera con un elegante retraso de 1 hora jajajaj Renata ya nos estaba esperando con cara de pocos amigos jajajaa pero despues de disculparnos procedimos a partir hacia Tamasopo que fue el primer destino siendo de lo mas cercano y rapido de llegar . Despues de aprox 4 horas de camino llegamos al entronque y empezamos a caminar por la carretera supuestamente con la mision de caminar los 14 km aproximadamente de el entronque a las cascadas pero a los primeros 3 km una camioneta nos levanto y nos fuimos hasta las cascadas en la parte trasera jajaja. Ahi pusimos el campamento y nos cambiamos para ir a explorar por ahi y ver buenos lugares para grabar y nadar =D asi k pasamos el dia jugando en las cascadas lanzandonos de sogas y piedras hacia el agua y solo paramos para comer y dar una caminata donde encontramos otros buenos lugares para nadar mas y terminar haciendo una fogata donde hicimos un platillo gourmet de atun con verduras jajajaja y terminamos con no se cuantas bebidas k con el calor realmente no se sentian .

Al dia siguiente nos fuimos a Puente de dios un lugar donde la fuerza de la cascada en temporadas altas es tan fuerte que con el tiempo formo una cueva que une la caida de la cascada con la otra parte del rio y se puede nadar atravez de la cueva para llegar ahi ayudandote de una soga para k no te jale la corriente jeje y oyendo murcielagos mientras pasas jajaja.

Despues de que regresamos de la huasteca nos preparamos para viajar a monterrey el siguiente fin de semana por lo que estuvimos en mi casa teniendo ratos de ocio disparandonos con una pistola de balas de plastico , entrenando, comiendo , etc etc etc .

Llegando el Jueves preparamos las maletas para salir a la ciudad de Monterrey a la 1am del viernes , despues de un viaje de 6 horas aprox llegamos a la ciudad de monterrey donde despues de despertar nos fuimos a buscar a Cesar que seria quien nos llevaria a ver a los demas integrantes y al buen Krad k nos hospedaria esos dias por alla.

En monterrey me sorprendio lo bien organizada que esta la ciudad y lo mal organizados que somos para levantarnos temprano jajaja movimos un pokito los horarios de los carnalitos Regios pero en general fueron muy buenos ratos conociendo la ciudad (muy bella por cierto) y parandonos a entrenar o probar lugares nuevos para nosotros.

Los lugares donde estuvimos entrenando y conociendo fueron :

El Fraile; una especie de parque con escalinatas , bancas, bardas , barandales, juegos , etc Un lugar bastante bueno y con muchas opciones y posibilidades para trazar =D

Paseo Santa Lucia; Un lugar muy bello que es una especie de rio (pero no natural jaja) totalmente con fines turisticos en el cual a todo lo largo de el se encuentran diferentes lugares para tomar cafe, restaurants, zonas de juegos y obviamente paramos en algunos lugares a descansar y porsupuesto a divertirnos un ratito jeje sobre todo en la zona de juegos .

La Macroplaza; Pues creo de lo mas conocido de Monterrey y un muy buen lugar con varias opciones muy buenas para explorar =D

Y bueno pues eso fue mi experiencia en estos viajes en los cuales me dejan muy buenos recuerdos y experiencias con la gente k aprecio y k saben k siempre son bienvenidos en donde yo este =D al igual agradecer a la gente k nos hospedo en MOnterrey y nos aguanto llevandonos a conocer y alimentandonos jajajjaja (Nutrileche de KRad), tambien a los grupos de SLP por haber estado con nosotros en nuestro primer año de ser Balams =D y a los UR por todo el apoyo que siempre han dado en general a todos y su hospitalidad en todas la ocasiones k hemos andado por alla =D esta ultima vez con el buen Tocha jejeje y pues ojala vengan muchos mas viajes y mas experiencias por compartir.

Saludotes a todos y que bien que aguantaron leerlo hasta el final jajaj

aN3