Lifelong Learning

Post 21 It is never too late to learn

More than 2500 years ago in China , there was a supreme ruler in the state of Jin called Jin Ping Gong. One day he said to Shi Kuang, a highly respected but blind grand master in music, “I am already 70 years old but I like to learn. Don’t you think it is already too late for me to do so?”

Grand master Kuang replied, “Why don’t Your Highness hurry up and light a candle?” Jin Ping Gong felt insulted and angrily retorted, “How can an official make fun of his supreme ruler?”

Grand master Kuang then said seriously, “How dare I, a blind official, tease Your Highness? I heard that

‘To be eager to learn at the time of early youth is like a rising sun;

To be eager to learn at the prime of life is like an afternoon sun;

To be eager to learn at an old age is like the light of a candle.’

Which is better: to walk with the help of a candle light or to walk in darkness?”

Having heard it, Jin Ping Gong said, “You are right.”

Learning is a continuous process. It is never too late to learn.

24 November 2009

A square, a circle, to move, and to stay put

Post 20 There is more to it than meets the eye in a chess game

About 1,300 years ago and during the Tang Dynasty, there was a child prodigy by the name of Li Mi. When he was seven years old, emperor Tang Xuan Zong summoned him to the palace to test his talent. When the child was brought in, the emperor was having a Chinese chess game with a Revered Mr Zhang.

Zhang then said to Li Mi: “A square is like a chess board;A circle is like a chess piece;To move is to activate the chess pieces; andTo stay put means the chess pieces are dead.”

Li Mi , who later in his life became an advisor to the emperor, was then asked to explain the principles of playing a chess game using the words ‘a square, a circle, to move and to stay put’, of which he recited:

“A square is like speaking out from a sense of justice;

A circle is like being comprehensive and encompassing;

To move is like presenting one’s talent; and

To stay put is like having understood matters thoroughly.”

The rhyme of Li Mi carries the message that when one speaks the truth and has empathy, one is brimful of talent well-nurtured. It is incredible that such a young boy could read the ways of the world so thoroughly.

17 November 2009

Have an exceptional insight

Post 19 To be able to see what others cannot

When one is an optimist, one expects to win; and when one is a pessimist, one does not even hope. A winner has an exceptional insight in fulfilling his or her expectancy and works towards that goal with confidence. Winners are able to see what losers cannot.

I am very much impacted in life by the following sayings which I learned during one of my Chinese lessons in school:

“Fishes choose to live where there are waterweeds;
Birds prefer to perch on selected good trees; and
Wise officials want only to serve under virtuous masters.”

Fishes have their own sense of judgment in pursuing what they want for a comfortable dwelling place; birds of good breed have the instinct to know the best place to rest; and officials who have integrity and are wise will choose not to wallow in the mire with corrupt masters who are evil.

Thus, to live a life guided by an exceptional insight is an excellent choice.

10 November 2009

The onlooker sees most of the game

Post 18 The spectators see the game better than the players

This post is associated with the following anecdote to remind me of my happy childhood.

When I was a boy living in a small town during the years when TV was not even introduced, the football matches between different teams from nearby rubber estates were the highlights of my otherwise boring evenings. The sense of anticipation of such matches was intense for me and my childhood friends. Whenever the players who were standing in the lorries carrying them arrived, we would all be excited. It was even more so when the players entered the field.

It was interesting to note that there were bare-footed players. Life must have been tough tapping rubber then and a few players might not have the extra cash to buy a pair of football boots! Nevertheless, it was the love of playing football that mattered for the players whose sheer joy only an appearance on the field could bring. I must say I cherish the memory of them all, my unsung heroes.

It was during the play that the word ‘Centre’ was repeatedly being echoed. Whenever a winger had the ball under his control while advancing towards the opposite goalposts, the hundreds of standing cheering crowd would start shouting “Centre! Centre! ”.

They wanted the winger to pass the ball to the centre near the goalposts so that one of the forward players could head or kick the ball into the net. If the winger did not do so, he would be booed. This applied to players whose control of the ball was spoilt by opposing players coming from the back, as forward players would not be able to see what was happening at their back.

The spectators can see the whole picture of any game better than the players indeed.

3 November 2009