achieving

A Zen teaching story tells of a man who prayed continually for awareness to succeed in life.   Then one night he dreamed of going into the forest to attain understanding.  The next morning he went into the woods and wandered for several hours looking for some sign that would provide answers.  When he finally stopped to rest, he saw a fox with no legs lying between two rocks in a cool place.  Curious as to know how a legless fox could survive, he waited until sunset when he observed a lion come and lay meat before the fox.  ‘Ah, I understand’, the man thought.  ‘The secret to success is to trust that God will take care of all my needs.  I don’t need to provide for myself.  All I have to do is totally surrender to the all-sustaining universe.’  Two weeks later, weakened and starving, the man had another dream.  In it he heard a voice say, ‘Fool.  Be like the lion, not the fox’.  […]