But the warrior was persistent. He said, “If you want a few days to learn, I can send you to the best teacher. Learn…but you will have to fight. Whoever wins will have my wife.”

The servant knew that his master would not change his mind. He went to the teacher, and the teacher said, “Don’t be worried, and don’t try to learn because your master is also my student. I know him: as far as swordsmanship is concerned, even I cannot defeat him. He has entered far more deeply into the art. You forget about learning. Learning is dangerous: if you know a little bit, you are finished.”

The man said, “Then what do you suggest?”

The teacher said, “I suggest one thing. You just take this sword; this is the way it is to be held. Go immediately and challenge your master to come out! Certainly your life is at risk, but now there is no way out. So do whatsoever you want to do: the sword is in your hands; hit your master any way it comes to your mind. This way you will be more thoroughgoing, because your mind will not be divided in thinking what is right, what is wrong, and what step should I take and what step should I avoid? It is better to be ignorant in this situation.

Only one thing you should remember: your life is at risk, so be thoroughgoing! And because you don’t know anything, there is nothing wrong, everything is right. And I am coming with you to judge.”

The warrior was amazed that he had come back so quickly – it takes years of learning – and that his master was also with him. The master said, “I have come to see a strange phenomenon: the fight of a great warrior with a man who does not know even how to handle the sword. But I want you to be aware, be alert, because he is going to be more thoroughgoing than you are. Because you will depend more on your training, on your knowledge, you will not be afraid for your life; you will feel a kind of safety and security which he has not. He is absolutely insecure; hence, be alert and thoroughgoing, because he is going to be more thoroughgoing than you are. You will depend on your knowledge.”

And as they started, the warrior became afraid. The servant was hitting him almost madly, not knowing what to do, and he was moving backwards just to save himself; he had never known any warrior to do such things as the servant was doing. Every warrior has a certain discipline, but this ignorant man had nothing!

Finally he came to the fencing wall – the servant has pushed him to the fencing wall – and the warrior said, “Wait! I don’t want to lose my life for an unfaithful wife. You can take her. But I am amazed: great warriors have not been able to defeat me, and you made me so afraid because you were hitting this way and that way. I could not believe it – has this man gone crazy or mad or what?”

It was a question of life and death for the servant. It was not a question of life and death for the warrior – and that made the difference.