LRJ #3 - Zen Parable

Sarita Beekie
Ms. Peifer
10 IB - Hour 5
25 April 2009

LRJ #3 - Zen Parable

Once upon a time, there was a tall, proud ginkgo tree that could be seen from anywhere in the village. This tree grew near a small stream, and on the banks of the stream were some thin, low-lying marsh grass. The tree continuously scoffed at the grass, taunting, "Say it or no, I know for a fact that such low-lying grass like yourselves will want to be a tall and proud tree like myself at some point". The grass just sighed at the tree's boasting, and continued to gently sway with the stream's gentle current and the soft mountain wind, day in, and day out. One day, however, the wind wasn't so gentle, and stream's water began rise and crash abrasively against the shore. Before long, a fierce storm had gathered and was getting closer to the village. The marsh grass bent with the violent wind, but were not blown away. The tree, on the other hand, refused to bend and stood straight. Despite the tree's strength, the wind was much stronger, and eventually caused the tree to snap and fall into the stream. In the morning when the storm had finally died down, the marsh grass looked below the water's surface at the tree that was now at the bottom of the stream bed and said, "Your stubbornness has caused you to take a much greater fall than our willingness to bend".