Zen Stories to Tell Your Neighbors 3

This Zen story, Only One Eye on the Goal about doing things rather than bothering about the time it takes, is part of an eBook series 51 Short Motivational Stories from Zen, Buddha and Ancient Tales.



A young man walked up to a Zen master and enquired.



“How long would it take for me to master Zen, if I worked very hard?”



“Ten years,” replied the Zen master.



“What if I put in a lot of effort and worked very hard. How long would it take?” he asked.



“Twenty years,” smiled the Zen master.



“And what if I put in 200% effort in learning,” asked the young man.



“It would take you 30 years,” replied the master.



The young man was angry: “How can it take longer when I’m going to work harder and harder? I don’t understand.”



“When you have only one eye on the goal, it’s going to take you longer to get there,” replied the Zen master.



Notes: There are many in this world like the young man, thinking about doing rather than getting down to doing it. And like the young man, many don’t see the goal clearly. And are clouded with doubts. One eye on the goal and one eye on the path will take us nowhere.