The International Budo Institute

Home

Library

Quotes

Milk Sweets

Main Menu

Random Image

Most Popular

Karate Podcast

Click the above to hear Shihan Des Paroz's Podcasts on classical Karate!

Newsflash

*shimizu suzushi hotaru no kiete nani mo nashi*

	cool clear water
	and fireflies that vanish
	that is all there is.....
		Chiyo-ni

Milk Sweets

Mahatma Gandhi

There is a story that is told about how a woman once came to Mahatma Gandhi to seek his help with a problem she was having with her son. It seems that the boy was completely addicted to Indian milk sweets. He couldn't stop eating these candy-like treats. The woman asked Gandhi if he could help. Could he please, she implored, ask her son to give them up, and tell him how much better he would feel if he did so?

Gandhi looked at the distressed mother and replied, "I can't tell you that this week, but come back next week."

The following week the mother arrived with her son, and Gandhi delivered an impassioned little lecture as the mother had requested.

"But Baba," the mother asked, "why did you make us wait a week?"

"Because," Gandhi replied, "last week I was also still eating too many milk sweets. I gave them up, and now I too feel better."

Shihan Henderson's Comment:

As teachers we must make sure that our words are not hollow and that we leed by example. It is difficult to request that a student do something if we are not willing to do the same thing. Now, physically speaking the teacher may not be able to do 100 push ups or train for long periods of time due to advanced age, for instance. But the moral is that we must have the same level of commitment that we expect in out students.

For instance, it is unreasonable to expect students to act appropriately when during or after class the teacher is abusive in some way. As teachers we set the example for the students and we too can continue our own personal training often facing those same challenges as the students. We must be willing to overcome them in ourselves before expecting that our students do the same. This brings us humility and a better sense of self and personal responsibility to our students and ourselves.

Moreover, students are cleaver and if, as a teacher, you expect from your students something that you are not willing to demand of yourself, they will notice and understand on an implicit level that you are being insincere. So, use the example of Mahatma Gandhi as your example and accomplish that in yourself first what you seek for your students.