The Bond of Liberty

The Zen teacher’s dog loved his evening romp with his master. The dog would race ahead to fetch a stick, then run back, wag his tail, and wait for the next game. On this particular evening, the teacher invited one of his star students to join him – a boy so bright that he questioned everything, including the disciplinary rules that came with Zen training.

“You must understand,” said the teacher, “ A disciplined path leads to freedom of the mind. Don’t mistake the ‘path’ for the ‘goal’. Here, I’ll show you.”

With that the teacher called his happy dog. “Fetch me the moon,” he said to his dog and pointed to the full moon. “Where is my dog looking?” asked the teacher to his confused pupil. “He’s looking at your finger.” “Exactly. Don’t be like him. Don’t confuse the pointed finger with the thing that is being pointed at”.

Sometimes, the disciplinary frameworks of our institutions leave us a little confused. For sure, they don’t help in winning the popularity contest. Then why would any rational management push for policies that carry a shackled feeling? Because the character of a country and an organization is defined by the stand it takes – what is popular vs. what is logical!

Populism demands freedom. But here is the paradox: in the long run, unrestricted freedom restricts freedom. Logically, a sustained freedom is only possible when we follow a disciplined path…



Discipline, Adapted, Attitude, Style

3 Comments

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  1. True, perfectly explained about disciplined path. After a long time reading something which written by Arun Nathani. Used to read his blogs in CybageTimes.

  2. Nice !!! The last paragraph is superb.

  3. A disciplined path leads to freedom of the mind. Exactly true sentence for today generation.

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The Bond of Liberty - Arun Nathani Blog