There was a fakir in Japan named Bokoju. He taught people the art of tree climbing. He used to say that along with the art of tree climbing, he also taught the art of awakening.
Now, there's no point in teaching the fakir the art of tree climbing. But the fakir had discovered a very wise thing: it was easy to teach both awakening and tree climbing simultaneously.
A Japanese prince went to this fakir to learn tree climbing. The fakir said, "Climb a straight tree about 150 feet high." The fakir sat down. As the prince climbed up, he looked back down, but the fakir closed his eyes. The prince climbed 150 feet, a point where even the slightest slip would be life-threatening. There were strong winds, the tree was shaking, and he had to reach the final peak and return. He was afraid to even breathe. And the fakir didn't say anything, he sat quietly below, neither telling how to climb nor telling what to do. Then he started back down. When only fifteen feet remained, the fakir jumped up and said, "Caution! Descend with caution!"
The prince was astonished, thinking what a fool he was! When I was a hundred and fifty feet above, I remained silent. And now, when I was only fifteen feet above, from where even if I fell, there's not much danger, this gentleman has come to his senses and is shouting, "Be careful! Descend with caution! Descend with awareness! Don't fall!"
He climbed down, and he said, "I am very surprised! When I was a hundred and fifty feet above, you didn't ask for caution. And when only fifteen feet remained from the bottom, you started shouting."
The fakir said, "When you were a hundred and fifty feet above, you were already careful. I didn't need to say anything." The danger was so great that you must have remained awake. But as you came closer to the ground, I saw that sleep had begun to overtake you, that you were losing consciousness. The fakir said, "I have a lifetime of experience: people fall when they come close to the ground, but no one ever falls from above. The danger is so great that one remains awake." And he said to the prince, "Think about it: when you were 150 feet above, the winds were strong and the trees were shaking, how many thoughts were going through your mind?"
He said, "Thoughts? Not a single thought! The only awareness was to not miss a beat! I was completely awake at that time."
So the fakir asked, "Did you have any thoughts during that awakening? Your mind was restless, sad, troubled, did memories come, did you imagine the future?"
He said, "Nothing came to mind! It was just me, a height of 150 feet, my life was in danger! There was neither past nor future." It was just the present! There was that moment, and there were the howling winds, and there was the threat to life, and I was there, and I was fully awake!
The mystic said, "So you should understand, if you stay awake like this twenty-four hours a day, you will know that which is the soul. You cannot know anything else."
It will be surprising to know that many times, in times of danger, a person experiences the soul. And it will also be surprising to know that the attraction we feel for danger is the very attraction to attain the soul. There is an attraction to danger, there is an attraction to danger within everyone. And as long as a person has some strength, there is an attraction to danger, a willingness to accept danger.
Read more : - The Singing Bird of Gold
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