Spiritual Warrior

Today I'd like to share this quote from a book by Huaching Ni called The Way, The Truth and the Light.

There are three ways to fulfill or achieve immortal power. The first is to become a hermit... The second way is that of people who have achieved spiritual power. They practice spiritual knighthood or spiritual swordsmanship. If they have a chance, they assist victims of evil who are caught in a helpless situation. They extend their spiritual power to help a good person or to punish a wrongdoer without asking anything in return or looking for recognition. If an evil force is known by a spiritual knight, even if the evil one has the protection of thousands of guards, his head can be taken by the knight as easily as taking something out of his pocket. However, warning is always given first. Some spiritual knights travel in general society looking for opportunities to render their knight service. Other live in the world for six months and then return to live in their mountain huts for another six months.

These people have sharp tempers and strong feelings toward what is good and bad, right and evil. The punishment they mete out is quick and thorough, but no mistakes are made, because they take careful measure of the truth of a situation. These people first achieved themselves highly in martial arts and swordsmanship. Some of them were taught by their teachers to accomplish their virtuous fulfillment for a length of years, then they become hermits and live an ordinary life.

When I read this passage, my heart leapt. It brought me back to the early days when I first started training in martial arts. Every boy wants to be a superhero at some point, and some of us never grow out of it. Martial arts offers the clearest, most realistic path to becoming a modern superhero - a person with incredible strength and speed, amazing skills and a highly developed character. The person who can not only win battles but change a defeated enemy into a friend.

As you get older, you realize that heroism is complicated. Nothing is as easy as the movies. All you can do is keep training, hard, with the best teachers and friends you can find. That way, when the opportunity to help someone presents itself, you can both recognize it and have the necessary skills to carry out your task.