[美文欣賞]

After winning several archery contests,the young and rather boastful champion challenged a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as an archer.

The young man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull’s eye on his first try,and then split that arrow with his second shot.

“There,”he said to the old man, “see if you can match that!”

Undisturbed ,the master did not draw his bow,but rather motioned for the young archer to follow him up the mountain.

Curious about the old fellow’s `intentions,the champion followed him high into the mountain until they reached a deep chasm spanned by a rather flimsy and shaky log.

Calmly stepping out onto the middle of the unsteady and certainly perilous bridge ,the old maser picked a far away tree as a target,drew his bow,and fired a clean,direct hit.

“Now it is your turn,”he said as he gracefully stepped back onto the safe ground.Staring with terror into the seemingly bottomless and beckoning abyss,the young man could not force himself to step out onto the log,no less shoot at a target. “You have much skill with your bow,” the master said ,sensing his challenger’s predicament, “but you have little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot.”

[參考譯文]

在贏得幾場射箭比賽后，一位年輕而又極為自負的冠軍向一位以精湛的箭術而聞名的禪師提出了挑戰。

這位年輕人展示了異常嫻熟的技藝，他一箭射中了遠處的靶心，接著第二枝箭將第一枝箭射劈。

“喂”，他對老者說，“看看你是否有得一比!”

禪師不以為然，并沒有拉弓射箭，而是示意年輕的射手跟著他往山上走去。

射箭冠軍對老人的意圖感到很好奇，于是緊隨其后爬上山，來到一個峽谷前，連接兩岸的圓木極不牢固且搖搖欲墜。

老禪師沉著地邁步走到那座搖搖晃晃、十分危險的獨木橋中央，選了遠處的一棵樹做靶子，拉開弓箭，一箭射中，動作干凈利落。

“現在該你了，”他說著，從容而優雅地走回到安全的地面。年輕人滿眼恐懼，望著那看似令人心驚肉跳的無盡深淵，他連向獨木橋上邁一步的勇氣都沒有，更別說射靶了。覺察到這位挑戰者的窘境，禪師說道：“你擁有高超的弓箭術，但你缺乏自如射箭的心境。”