On my ancestor’s place, as is the one at the Gompa, there are many objects placed there that are symbolic representatives of the school, its history and of my own personal beliefs and history. I have a sword rack in the living room that holds 8 swords of various styles and dates. But the one that sits on the single display on my ancestor’s place is a double-edge straight sword that is broken in two at the middle. A friend came to visit this past week and looking over the swords, asked why the old, broken, cheap sword has the honor of being on the ancestor’s place, instead of one of the fancy, “pretty” ones (his words, not mine).
As I answered his question, the power of having “symbols” on the ancestor’s place once again came to my heart. In Jr. High school, we had to memorize a poem and recite it in front of the class. We were given a list of poems and I chose one with a sword theme. Basically what I remembered was that it was about a terrible battle occurring and a common soldier fighting had his sword broken in half. He looked back at the leader of the army who had a new, beautiful sword with jewels. He thought to himself that if he only had a sword like that that he would turn the battle around, but all he had was this old broken sword. The army was being over-run, so he tossed the sword aside and ran. The leader’s horse was over-whelmed and knocked over. He lost his sword and reached in the mud for anything to fight with. He grabbed the broken sword, stood and shouting, jumped back into the fray, rallying his men, swinging the broken sword and eventually winning the day.
The moral, that it is not the fancy perfect sword, its the spirit of the man, his mettle, his heart. That stayed with me over all the years I have lived since then. Through sports, college, even the school. I search for that in others and teach them that if I don’t see it. It does not matter if you are not big enough, or fast enough, or too old, or not strong enough, etc, etc. If you carry a spirit within you that is indominatable, you will prevail.
It may have been a simple poem, read long ago and I do not remember all the words, but I remember the feeling, the idea, and that idea has been one of my guiding perspectives. That’s why it sits on my ancestor’s place as my sword of honor.
May this coming new year, be blessed with health, prosperity, and interesting adventures.
Practice from the heart.
Andrew Garza, III
Shifu, Daoqiquan Internal Arts
The Gompa (Arlington, Texas)
OPPORTUNITY
by: Edward Rowland Sill (1841-1887)
THIS I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream:–
There spread a cloud of dust along a plain;
And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged
A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords
Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince’s banner
Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes.
A craven hung along the battle’s edge,
And thought, “Had I a sword of keener steel–
That blue blade that the king’s son bears, — but this
Blunt thing–!” he snapped and flung it from his hand,
And lowering crept away and left the field.
Then came the king’s son, wounded, sore bestead,
And weaponless, and saw the broken sword,
Hilt-buried in the dry and trodden sand,
And ran and snatched it, and with battle shout
Lifted afresh he hewed his enemy down,
And saved a great cause that heroic day.
Hey, that is it! Great. I have copied it and printed it out and it now sits inside my personal Ancestor’s Box. Thanks
I like the first line “This I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream”.