I’ve been asked this question for years and it always stuns me. It shows a lack of desire to learn the art and a huge desire to have the trappings of the art. It’s about decorations and not about substance. I had a Zen student do the same thing recently. I asked what their intention was in studying Zen and the answer was so they could open a small monastery somewhere that they would be the head of. It wasn’t to seek enlightenment, bestow compassion or to fully understand their nature; it was to be a head of a temple. In over forty years it’s the first time I’ve ever heard this and I find it to be very strange. On the other hand years ago I met a fellow that was talking about doing a particular martial art and I asked him how long he had studied it. He puffed out his chest and said, “I don’t study it, I teach it!” It was like this was supposed to communicate to me what a great person he was or whatever. To him it was an accomplishment but to me it was an astounding admission of ignorance. Teriyuki Okasaki Sensei, the Shotokan master, once said to me that Americans goal is to study to get a black belt and end it there but the Japanese know that the black belt is just the beginning and start their real training there.
The best teachers I’ve had in my life were those that continually grew and learned. They never stopped developing or maturing and they were a deep fountain to draw from. Then there were all of those other teachers I’ve had and we’ve all had …. ‘nuff said.
