It is best to live in a peaceful time when there is no need for Superhero. When people start to cry for Superheroes, and some individuals try to become the Superheroes whom the people desire, it means the world is not peaceful.
A young man went to meet a master at the mountain. He wished to learn the skill to kill a dragon. He spent all his money and three long years to learn the skill from his master. After he graduated and came down from the mountain, he traveled to every corner of the world. Unfortunately, he never found a dragon to kill. Some individuals learn to become Superheroes at the universities. Unfortunately, the skill they acquired may not be useful, or the world has no need for the special skill. You should not desire to learn for the sake of becoming a Superhero. Instead, learn everything that you are interested, for the fun of it. These may become handy as the need arises. You are fortunate if there is no dragon for you to kill.
The king of Zhao State loved sword-fighting skill. Many swordsmen were attracted to Zhao State, and the palace had more than three thousand swordsmen. The king watched the swordsmen fight day and night. In three years, many swordsmen had died but it didn’t lessen the king’s love for sword-fighting skill. The neighboring states were starting to take notice of the lack of governance in the Zhao State, and planned to use the opportunity to conquer it. The prince was worried. He wished to find someone who can stop the king’s obsession. A minister suggested Zhuang Zi.
When Zhuang Zi arrived at the palace, he said to the prince: “I was told that you are worried about the king’s obsession for sword-fighting skill. Let me try to see what I can do.” The prince said: “That would be excellent. However, presently the king only wishes to meet swordsmen and no one else. In his perception, swordsmen must have disorganized hair and rough-spoken manner. Their helmets press on their eyebrows and their staring eyes look like those of a dead fish, when they are ready to fight. You look like a courteous gentleman. The king will not like you.” Zhuang Zi replied: “Then, give me a swordsman’s armor.”
The king was quite happy to see the rough-spoken Zhuang Zi introduced by the prince. The king said: “Your sword-fighting skill must be very good. Otherwise, the prince would not personally introduce you to me.” Zhuang Zi said: “My sword can reach a thousand miles and no one will be able to stop it. If someone tries to stop me, I can kill him within the distance of ten steps.” The king was very excited and said: “You must be the strongest swordsman in the world! Please have a rest for seven days. I must select the best swordsmen to compete with you.” In the selection process, more than sixty swordsmen were killed in the fights. Finally, the best five were selected.
On the eighth day, the king asked Zhuang Zi to come for a competition. The king asked: “What length of sword do you prefer to use?” Zhuang Zi replied: “I have three types of sword. Please choose one for me and I will use it in the competition.” The king asked: “What are the three swords?” Zhuang Zi said: “I have the Sword of the Emperor, the Swords of the King, and the Sword of the Commoner. The Sword of the Emperor uses the Earth terrain and fortified walls as the tip of the sword; the various countries in the world as the sword edge; the surrounding small states as the sword cover. When this sword is pulled out from the cover, it can split the cloud in the sky and break the land into pieces. Everyone in the world will surrender without a fight.” “The Sword of the King uses clever and courageous people as the tip of the sword; honest and righteous personnel as the sword edge; intelligent individuals as the sword handle. When this sword is used, the thunderous sound will cause the various countries to surrender.” “The Sword of the Commoner is commonly used by swordsmen with disorganized hair and rough-spoken manner. Their helmets press on their eyebrows and their staring eyes look like those of a dead fish, when they are ready to fight. When this sword is used, it can sever the head or cut into the heart of enemy, like cock fighting. When they lose their lives, they will not be able to contribute anything else to the state. Your Highness is very fond of the Sword of the Commoner. I think it is a pity.” The king was speechless. He finally realized his foolishness. He stepped down from his throne and held the hand of Zhuang Zi, and he announced: “Today’s sword-fighting competition is over. You may all leave the palace.” The king prepared a royal dinner for Zhuang Zi. At the dinner table, the king was still in a state of edgy and walked around the table three times. Zhuang Zi said: “Please relax and sit down, Your Highness. About the sword-fighting skill, I have said all I wanted to say. I will now excuse myself and return home.” From then onwards, the king never talked about sword-fighting or met the swordsmen again. The swordsmen were angry and they all killed themselves.
Desires for wealth, colorful life, colorful objects, fame, luxurious foods, leisure, and power are like sharpen swords. These can cause harm to yourself and others. The “swordsmen”, aka people who have a lot of desire, often have a funny look: staring eyes and angry faces. They compete with one another and lose their “lives”; i.e. feeling unhappy every day, fearing about the future, burdening themselves with obligations, and not forgiving themselves for failures. They “kill” themselves for not getting the kind of success that they desired. Are they courageous or stupid? Many leaders are fond of the Sword of the Commoner (personal desire). They use it every day for competitions after competitions. Some of them win while the others lose out. Some leaders have the Sword of the King (organizational desire with good human resources) because of the scale of their organizations. They use the sword to force other people to surrender. A great leader will use the Sword of the Emperor, cooperating with other leaders, and use the appropriate tools to work for common goods of the people. No coercion is needed. No superhero is needed when there are no super-monsters (such as Adolf Hitler and Hideki Tojo) to kill; crimes caused by thugs and terrorists can be appropriately controlled by the policemen.
RESILIENT KID 