To win without fighting
One day, a father of two sons became ill. He understood that he would die very soon and asked his two sons to come and see him. He said to them, 'My wish is to leave the farm to the both of you. Divide the land into two equal parts and help one another turn it into a success. I hope that you will both be just as pleased and happy with it as I have been.' Once he had said these words, he passed away peacefully.
The two brothers divided the land and helped one another, if needed, with the difficult jobs. But it wasn't long before the wife of the elder son began to complain that the land had not been divided fairly. The younger son was not married and had his piece of land to himself, while the elder son hada wife and therefore needed more land. The elder son spoke to his younger brother about it. Even though the younger brother didn't agree with what his brother told him, he gave his permission. His brother was much bigger and stronger than he was and he knew from experience that there wasno point in arguing with him. Now that the elder son's wife realised how easy it was, she wanted evenmore. She said to her husband that if they were to have children, she would need more land so thatthey could lead a relatively comfortable life. There would be no room for his younger brother; he would have to go.
The elder son now said to his brother that there was no room for the both of them and that he wanted to buy all the land in exchange for a young calf that had just been born. The boy did not agree with this and his older brother became very angry about his protests. He gave the young boy a good beating and chased him off the farm. The boy went straight to his family and friends in thevillage to complain. Everyone thought it was an outrage and not at all fair but nobody did anything to help. They were all afraid of the elder brother's fiery temperament and knew how quickly he became angry when challenged.
The boy felt the injustice of what had been done to him and, full of sorrow, went away from the place where he was born, taking his calf with him. One day, after wandering around for a long time, he sawan old monk practising a combat sport. He was so impressed with the old monk that he asked him to take him on as a pupil. The monk would be able to teach him how to fight. The monk asked the boy why he wanted to become his pupil and listened to the boy's sad story. If the boy learned how to fight,he would be able to demand his land back. Although he didn't have any money, he would be able to pay the monk by giving him the calf. The monk asked the boy to meet him with the calf outside the monastery the next morning so that he could undergo a test before being accepted as the monk's pupil.
Early the next morning, the boy came to see the monk who was sitting in front of a young tree he had just planted. The monk said to the boy, 'You don't have enough strength yet to learn how to fight and need to work on it first.' The monk instructed the boy to lift the calf onto his shoulders each morning and jump over the newly planted tree thirty times. 'When you are strong enough, I will teach you howto fight.' 'That's easy', said the boy and he began to jump up and down. Days, weeks, months and years passed by. The calf had grown into a hefty cow and the small sapling had turned into a tree.
After three years had gone by, the boy asked the monk whether he was now strong enough to learn how to fight. The monk was pleased and told him to return to his house and claim back his land. He was now strong enough and wouldn't have to fight. The monk's motto was to: 'Win without fighting.''Win without fighting?', said the boy. 'But I haven't learned to fight at all yet', he spluttered. 'My brother will beat me up again!' The monk answered, 'Go and work on your land and when your brother comes, lift the cow onto your shoulders and jump towards him. You need to trust me.'
The boy did what the monk asked him to do and went on his way.
When he arrived at the farm, he started working on the land. It wasn't long before his brother heard that his younger brother had returned to claim back his piece of land. The elder brother became very angry and went straight to the boy to teach him a lesson he would never forget. He would beat his brother up so badly that he would never return. When the boy saw his elder brother, he lifted the cow on to his shoulders and jumped towards him with giant leaps. As soon as the brother saw what was happening, he was startled and ran away, refusing to show his face again. After a few months had passed, the younger boy paid a visit to his elder brother who had become terrified of him. The two brothers made their peace and the boy decided to sell his part of the land to his elder brother for a reasonable price.
* Food for thought
The boy returned to the monk to ask him to teach him some more. The monk had already taught him how to win without fighting! The aim of his training was no longer to become strong and learn how to fight. This had already become a way of life for him. What he could aim to do now was to work on his technique, follow his heart and become a monk.
Violence, abuse of power and injustice are often caused by a difference in power. In the story, the young boy's family and friends could have made a difference. They could have given the boy their support but their fear held them back. In the end, the boy was able to make his elder brother understand by reversing the difference in power between the two men, which in this case was their strength.
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