The Secret of an Arrow That Pierced a Stone
During China’s Western Han Dynasty, a general named Li Guang was riding alone on horseback along a forest path as darkness settled around him.
Suddenly, he saw a tiger crouching in his path.
Gathering every ounce of concentration, he drew his bow with all his strength. The arrow flew straight and struck the tiger squarely.
Yet strangely, the tiger did not move.
Unable to sleep that night, Li Guang returned at first light to see the tiger that had remained motionless even after being struck by his arrow.
What he found was not a tiger at all, but a massive rock shaped like one.
To his astonishment, his arrow had penetrated deep into the solid stone.
He returned to the exact spot from which he had fired the night before and, aiming at the same rock, drew his bow with all his might once again.
This time, however, the arrow simply bounced away.
This is the origin of the ancient Chinese expression Sa Seok Seong Ho(射石成虎), recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian. It teaches us that when the mind is wholly focused, even what appears impossible can sometimes be achieved.
Li Guang’s arrow pierced the rock not because of extraordinary physical strength, but because, in that moment, his entire being was consumed by a single thought: I must survive.
Too often, we encounter even a small obstacle and quickly tell ourselves, “I can’t do this,” and give up.
But success sometimes demands the kind of concentration that comes when everything is at stake.
When the whole heart is gathered toward a single purpose, we become far stronger than we imagine.
Focus awakens a strength within us that we never knew we possessed.
- From Dawn Light Notes by Ki Jun Kwon -
Reflection of the Day
★ When we gather our hearts around a single purpose and give it everything we have, there is little we cannot accomplish.
It is the same wisdom expressed in the familiar saying Jeongsin Ildo Hasa Bulseong(精神一到何事不成):
“When the mind is wholly devoted, what is there that cannot be achieved?” ★
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