“Ji Xingzi was training a fighting rooster for King Xuan of Zhou. After 10 days, the king asked if the rooster was ready for battle.
— Not yet, he is still boastful and vainly shows off.
After another 10 days, to the same question, Ji Xingzi replied: — Still not. He still lunges at every shadow and responds to every sound.
After another 10 days, the answer was: — Not yet ready; his gaze is full of hatred, and his power overflows from within.
After another 10 days, the answer finally was: — He is almost ready. He will not be disturbed even if he hears another rooster. Look at him—he is like he was carved from wood. The fullness of his properties is perfect. To his call, not a single rooster will dare respond—they will turn and run…”
When I first read this parable, I only understood it with my mind. But with every step I have taken on my path through external battles, I began to understand it more deeply. Given that my sense of justice is sometimes painfully strong, you can imagine how “helpful” it is when it comes to getting angry with someone. In this case, it’s not so much about showing my anger openly; it’s simply about ceasing to pay attention to the other “rooster.”
When I was younger, I used to jump at the slightest provocation, letting the other person know exactly what I thought, convinced of my own righteousness. Later, I learned to restrain my external reaction, but I couldn’t change the internal one. Inside, anger seethed that things were not as they should be. I wanted very much for this to change, but it wasn’t clear to me if the day would ever come when I would become as calm as Ji Xingzi’s rooster.
That day has still not fully arrived. But fortunately, I have at least tasted a small glimpse of the experience of “not hooking emotionally” into some of the things that literally used to throw me off balance in the past. I want to have that feeling again, because it is wonderful.
This is the reason I want to share this now. The point of inner peace that stems from an attitude of neutrality is the true strength of this Rooster, but to reach it takes not just days, but years.
Kameliya
