Living An Awakened Life
by Master Lee Feng San Shifu
Translated by Sophia Lui
Edited by Ric Meyers
During my army days, we had a commander who everyone thought was really wise. Each time there was an emergency mobilization he would say to his subordinates the same thing: “It is alright to be nervous, but do not panic.”
I have also said similar words to my students. Whenever a student says: “Shifu, I am very nervous! When I go on stage, my nervousness gets even worse!” I would say: “Anyone would feel nervous. It is alright to be nervous, just do not be afraid.”
It is okay to be nervous because it increases our alertness and spurs us on to greater efforts — and therefore a better performance. However, if we become afraid, we might lose our head and be thrown into confusion, or become hesitant and therefore not be able to perform to our potential.
The same principle applies when we talk about “holding back.” When we are uncertain about a situation, we may hold back on a decision, and see how the situation evolves. When the situation is at stage one, two, or three we can still afford to wait and not take action. But if we wait until the situation evolves to stage four, five, or six, the situation may have already gotten out of hand. Therefore, responding only when circumstances force us to, means that we still do not have sufficient wisdom.
Another analogy is that the road to success or failure also progresses gradually from stage one to ten. If a person is smart enough, he already knows whether he is heading for success or failure at the early stages, and thus can decide how to proceed from there. However, some may have to reach stage four, five, six, or even seven, eight, or nine before they know where they are heading. By that time it will be too late to act appropriately.
Therefore, it is best to be a smart person and see the trend of things by stage one, two or three. This is especially true when it comes to the large-scale concerns of the nation or society. If we let issues develop until they reach stage four before we respond, the nation or society will have already become fragmented into chaos and it will be too late to remedy the situation.
Therefore, we need to learn the art of one-two-three. There is a saying: “In life, everything comes in threes,” or “Nothing goes beyond the third time.” Therefore, be awake by the time you count to three. Only by being awake can we make conscious choices and live a life of our own creation.
“We can still get by up until stage three; yet by the time we arrive at stage four or five, the prognosis will not look too good; and by stage seven or eight everything would have descended into chaos. Therefore it is best to cultivate ourselves so that we grow in wisdom and live an awakened life.” — Lee Feng San Shifu