There was a young student-archer who became so good that he could shoot an arrow into a tree and then cut that arrow into two with the next shot. He began to boast that he was a greater archer than his teacher.
One day his teacher, an old man, asked the youth to go with him on a journey. They walked in silence till they came to a deep gorge. A single log spanned the gorge. The teacher went down to the centre of the log, and taking an arrow shot it into a tree on the other side. His next shot cut the first arrow into two.“Now it’s your turn,” he said, walking back to where his student was standing.
The youth stepped hesitantly on the log and made his way cautiously to the middle. But he was frightened to death. His hands trembled so much, that he found it hard to focus. So when he let go of the arrow, it missed the tree altogether. Crying now, he turned around.
“Help me!” he shouted to his teacher. “I’ll fall!” The old man walked up to him, took his hand and stepping backwards led him to safety. Neither of them said a word on the return journey but the boy realized that mastering the bow and arrow was not enough. He had to learn how to control the mind, too.