raybear | Put the lady down.

Lately I've had many life lessons that apply to this zen meditation/parable, so much so that I've developed a shortened catch phrase whenever it applies: put the lady down.

Here's the explanation, for posterity and explanation's sake. It's not like I'm really going to forget it.

Two monks are walking down the road when they come to a river. A young lady wishes to cross the stream but she's nable to ford it alone. The older monk sees her distress and offers to piggy-back her across. She climbs up on his back and puts her arms around his neck. As her legs straddle his waist, he hooks his arms under her knees to hold her securely. The two monks ford the river and once safely on the other side, the first monk gently sets the lady down. As the monks resume their journey, the younger monk gets more and more upset and confused as each hour passes. Finally he expresses his indignation. "Do you not care that you have violated our rules of decorum?... that you have compromised your modesty by holding a woman in such an intimate way? How do you justify your actions?" On and on he questions until finally, the older monk says, "Brother, I put the lady down back at the river. Why are you still carrying her?"