The Wrong Way of Tai Lung
Lessons from Kungfu Panda
And when the boy showed talent in kung fu
Shifu trained him.
He believed in him. He told him he was destined for greatness.
It was never enough for Tai Lung.
He wanted the Dragon Scroll.
But Oogway saw darkness in his heart and refused.
So where does Tai Lung go wrong?
The way is more important than the Goal.
Obsessiveness about the Goal leads one to forget many things. Tai Lung was taught to be the best Kung-fu warrior by Shifu. Shifu saw the talent and the determination and understood and also told this that Tai Lung was destined for greatness. And the ultimate greatness was in being the Dragon Warrior. That was the greatest goal in his life; he lived for it; dreamt it; trained for it.
But the old tortoise was wise. Dragon Warrior was not a Goal; but the Way; to attain it by aiming for it was impossible. You need to walk away from a lot of things sometimes to really attain it.
The most important things in life can only be got once you have lost it.
The Goal in itself can become the source of stress, anger, grief and death. Sometimes by overstretching, one can attain a Goal. This is dangerous. While a challenge is necessary, for many they challenge themselves too much. This is equally bad as being slothful.
Yet in cultures, in families children are exhorted to attain the Goal
The Goal limits one from true mastery. The Goal makes life either black or white, sad or happy.
If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;
If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
Poem If by Rudyard Kipling
True mastery is the never-ending journey to the Goal. There is no failure and no success. There is sometimes weariness in the journey and happiness on passing milestones and contentment when one no longer can journey on. That could be a better way.
As both the Panda and Tai Lung both dreamt, both desired; one lost and lost his mind; the other gained and lost and found exactly what he was searching for.
This is similar to the No Goal way of The Unfettered Mind — The Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master (Takuan Soho)
Finally, all books, all poets, and all thinkers reach the same conclusion. To attain mastery you cannot have the satisfaction of any particular goal, but should find satisfaction in the journey; and limitless goals. Anything is possible; probably not for you; but for someone, sometime; and you are walking on a journey started by all those before you and will be continued by all those after you.
