(A Wooden Figure of a Chicken)
A professional
cockfighting trainer, Ki Seishi, was told to train a
chicken by the
King. After 10 days, the King asked: "Is he ready to fight yet?" Ki Seishi answered: "No, not yet. He becomes
blindly ferocious, and looks eagerly for an opponent." Another 10 days passed and the King asked again. Ki Seishi answered "No, not yet. When he hears another chicken
crow, or when he senses another chicken's presence, he will
radiate his fighting spirit." After another 10 days, the King asked yet again. Ki Seishi answered: "NO. Not yet. When he sees another chicken, he will glare fiercely and
lose his temper." When another 10 days had passed, the King asked again, and this time Ki Seishi said: "I believe he is ready now. Even if anothe chicken crows and challenges him, he will remain unperturbed, just like a
wooden figure. This proves that he is full of
virtue. He has got it now. No chicken is a match for him; they will run away when they see him."
As a contextual note, this was the parable associated with the kanji upon the tenigue given out at the 2002 All-United States Kendo Championships.