Yu the Dragon Tamer by Short Stop Press an Imprint of A&A Book Publishing

“A timeless message and a parable for our times”.

“This book gets to the heart of the deep structure of the unconscious mind as it struggles to awaken from its ‘dream of fear’ so that it may attain to a greater experience of the joy andaweof‘reallife’”. Dr Phil Harker,

Dexter Dunphy, Visiting Professor, University of Technology Sydney

MA, PhD, FAIM—Applied Psychologist This is a book about a courageous man, Yu, who suffered from mental illness. It tells of his personal and spiritual development and the growing intrusion of the manifestation of mental illness in his life. It documents how his own courage and the guidance of others help him reconstruct his world view to something morefunctional.

the Dragon Tamer

It was not my intention in writing the book to suggest I have discovered a cure for the conditionsthathemanifested. If anything I just wanted to show the difficulties we encounter when we view the world in a dysfunctional way. I particularly wanted to show that those who are so afflicted are human beings like the rest ofusandoftenimbuedwithadmirablequalities. Following a long and successful career in Queensland’s electricity industry, and recognised by the Australian Financial Review’s Boss magazine as one of the country’s top business leaders, author Ted Scott is now an eminent executive coach and speaker on management practice. Buddhist writings and practice have provided models for his coaching methodology and the inspiration behind the parables that make up his firstbook, Augustus Finds Serenity, andthis,hissecondbook: Yu the Dragon Tamer.

T ED S COTT

About the author

Share some of Ted's thoughts by accessing his blog at http://tedscott.aampersanda.com Fiction/inspirational/depression

ISBN 978-0-9807399-6-1

9 780980 739961

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Nearly fifty years ago, my mother gave me a book to read called The Pilgrim’s Progress. The book was an allegorical story about a young man’s journey towards wisdom, written nearly four hundred years earlier by one John Bunyan whilst languishing in a prison cell on a charge of heresy. The book made a deep impression upon my life. Its contents gave me neither knowledge nor wisdom; for increasing my knowledge about the world was not its purpose and wisdom cannot be directly taught. However what it did do for me was to stimulate my curiosity regarding the inner workings of my own heart and mind as I observed and attempted to make sense of the world I perceived within my arena of consciousness. Bunyan’s book was subtle and profound. It made no attempt to force its lessons upon my mind, and much of what it had to teach needed years of incubation before making their impact upon my life. Reading this little book by Ted Scott – an author with a mind trained in western knowledge and a heart filled with eastern wisdom – reminded me of The Pilgrim’s Progress – a simple story carrying deep significance and offering a path to wisdom for any curious mind that is willing and ready to hear. There is a long and colourful history to the use of the dragon metaphor as a way of depicting the great powers at work in the unconscious mind. Not all dragons are negative, however, and as we will see in this little book, some very small dragons can have very large effects! This book gets to the heart of the deep structure of the unconscious mind as it struggles to awaken from it ‘dream of fear’ so that it may attain to a greater experience of the joy and awe of ‘real life’. Dr Phil Harker MA, PhD, FAIM—Applied Psychologist

Yu the Dragon Tamer

Ted Scott

SHORT STOP PRESS An Imprint of A&A Book Publishing admin@aampersanda.com www.aampersanda.com First published 2010 Text ÂŠ Ted Scott 2010 This book is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means or process whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publishers. Cover artwork and design, internal illustrations and typesetting by David Andor / Wave Source Design www.wavesource.com.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Author: Scott, Ted, 1946Title: Yu, the dragon tamer / Ted Scott. ISBN: 9780980739961 (pbk.) Dewey Number: A823.4

This book is dedicated to Neil Galwey â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a truly inspirational leader.

A C K N OW L E D G E M E N TS

There are so many people I need to acknowledge who have helped me in the compilation of this book. Firstly let me acknowledge Dr Phil Harker who over the years has taught me so much. This whole book was stimulated from a suggestion of his that to understand mental illness it was necessary to understand why the deviation from normal behaviour helped the sufferer cope. We have had many discussions over a long period and his great intellect and underlying humanity have been a source of continuing inspiration to me. Once I put pen to paperâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;does anyone really do that anymoreâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I was gratified that so many insightful people were prepared to comment on my manuscript. Their inputs, I am sure, have helped improve the final public offering. Let me acknowledge the comments from Dr Phil Harker, Greg Brown, my daughter, the beautiful Belinda Humphries, the insights from Mark Brookes, Cecily Moreton and many more. But let me make a particular mention of the contribution of Anne Savage. Anne did a very detailed edit of my manuscript. She helped me unravel many of the

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examples of convoluted language that I habitually use and suggested many improvements to the manuscript, most of which I have adopted. She has also volunteered to assist with marketing the book. Thank you so much, Anne. I am also grateful for the endorsement given to the book from Phil Harker and—someone who has also been influential in my life’s work—Dexter Dunphy. Dexter did more than any Australian to try and understand the dynamics of organisational change. Given that much of my corporate career was centred about that activity, Dexter provided a huge resource of both academic theory and organisational case studies to inform my work. Dexter, in his latter years, has also embarked on a very spiritual journey which has meant our paths continue to cross.

P R E FAC E

This is a book about a courageous man, Yu, who suffered from mental illness. It tells of his personal and spiritual development and the growing intrusion of the manifestation of mental illness in his life. It documents how his own courage and the guidance of others help him reconstruct his world view to something more functional. It was not my intention in writing the book to suggest I have discovered a cure for the conditions that he manifested. Whilst I have been assured by my readings and discussions with psychologists that the processes could be helpful in ameliorating his condition, it is not intended to imply that it would prove so beneficial to all such sufferers of these problems. If anything I just wanted to show the difficulties we encounter when we view the world in a dysfunctional way. I particularly wanted to show that those who are so inflicted are human beings like the rest of us and often imbued with admirable qualities. If this book helps other folk view such sufferers more humanely and reinforce that such conditions are largely a result of our genetics and early

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socialisation, matters over which we had no choice, I would be satisfied that my story was worth telling.

What is the great dragon which the spirit is no longer inclined to call Lord and God? ‘Thou shalt,’ is the great dragon called. But the spirit of the lion saith, ‘I will.’ ‘Thou shalt,’ lieth in its path, sparkling with gold — a scale covered beast; and on every scale glittereth golden, ‘Thou shalt!’ The values of a thousand years glitter on those scales, and thus spake the mightiest of all dragons: ‘All the values of things — glitter on me.’ All values have already been created, and all created values do I represent. Verily there shall be no ‘I will’ any more. Thus speaketh the dragon. Thus Spake Zarathustra — F RIEDRICH N IETZSCHE

on the tamped earth in front of his Master’s hut. Takygulpa Rinpoche, as usual, was sitting on his old stool. The old man was plaiting some hide into a thong, which would serve to bind his two wicker baskets to either end of a pole. Oft times he would walk to the next village and exchange produce with those who lived there. He carried his load in the baskets balanced on the pole slung across his back. His pupil was mending his tunic with a large needle threaded with a course tough yarn. The patch wouldn’t be pretty but at least it would be durable. The old man looked up from his work. ‘Augustus,’ he said, ‘there is something I’ve neglected to tell you.’ The young Buddhist looked up respectfully at the weather-beaten old face. ‘What is that Sir?’ ‘We have talked for some months about your departure and agreed you would take your leave in the early spring.’ ‘Yes,’ nodded the young man. ‘That is what we agreed. My plan is to depart from here in about a month’s time.’ ‘Well,’ continued the Sage. ‘An old friend has prevailed on me to take on his son as a pupil. I wanted to warn you of UGUSTUS SAT

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this because he will be here in a few days. As a result you will both be living under the same roof with me for a little while.’ Augustus was intrigued with this turn of events. He knew the Master was very particular about who he would take on as a pupil. He vividly remembered being tested thoroughly before Takygulpa Rinpoche finally consented to taking him. Apart from a day or two when the Master had travelled by himself to other surrounding villages, Augustus had hardly left his side. There would seem to have been little chance for the old man to have assessed a potential pupil. Although Augustus genuinely loved his Master he mused that it might be agreeable to have the company of another young person for a change. ‘Who is this new pupil, Master?’ Augustus’s eyes lit up with interest. ‘Tell me a little about him.’ Takygulpa Rinpoche sighed. Augustus had lived long enough with the old man to know that he did not approve somehow of this new pupil. ‘His name is Yu. But to tell you the truth I know little about him.’ ‘But Master, how do you know you will want him as a pupil?’ ‘That’s the problem Augustus—I don’t!’ ‘You have been very particular about who you took on in the past.’ ‘Sometimes one cannot pick and choose. You see, although I don’t know the boy, I know his father well. He is a man of great honour and integrity. He has been very good to me in the past and now I must return his favours by assisting him in his hour of need.’ ‘Why now?’ Augustus enquired with a puzzled look on his face. 2

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‘Yu’s mother has taken ill and can no longer care for him. His father, Wang Shu, is a court official in the court of Weng Fu and must attend his official duties and so has no time to care for the boy either.’ ‘How long do you think it will be before the boy’s mother is well again?’ ‘It is difficult to know. You see, her illness is not of the body but of the mind.’ Augustus was intrigued by this. ‘Master how can the mind be ill? I know how the body can be ill. It happens if I eat something that disagrees with me or I cut myself or break a limb. But how could the mind acquire an illness?’ Takygulpa Rinpoche laughed. ‘That is a surprisingly perceptive question pupil. In the past we have talked about world-views—how each of us contrives a way to see the world. Most of us have world-views that enable us to live comfortably with the world. But some of us, because of our circumstances or perhaps our heritage, construct dysfunctional world-views that make some aspects of living in this world decidedly difficult. As a result, simple activities that you and I take for granted become virtually impossible for them. When the mind perceives the world as a hostile place it throws up defense mechanisms to cope. This is the “illness of the mind” I am referring to. Can you remember when we studied the “Eightfold Path”? What was the first step on the “Eightfold Path”?’ Augustus pondered a little and then responded, ‘Why it was “Right View”.’ ‘That is true.’ The Sage agreed. ‘Without “Right View” we struggle to deal objectively with the world. It is the first and primary step in relating productively with the world. If our 3

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world view is unduly distorted, people call this “mental illness”. Many human problems arise primarily because the mind perceives things wrongly.’ ‘Can such illness be cured?’ ‘Sometimes—but it is not an easy process. If we can help those so afflicted to see the world in a more appropriate fashion many may be led to behave in more productive ways. There are other mental illnesses that are more organic, arising from a physical malfunction of the brain and therefore much more difficult to treat. Anyhow suffice is to say as a result of such an affliction of Yu’s mother, I have agreed to take Yu in. I hope you get along with him.’ ‘I will try. After all, his situation is a difficult one.’ ‘Indeed it is!’

HE WORST of the winter had now passed. It was still

chill when Augustus arose at first light and went to get water from the stream. He had done this every morning during the years he had lived with his Master, Takygulpa Rinpoche. The mist rose silently from the still waters of the reach of the stream close to his Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hut. He filled two buckets and walked back to the hut with one in each hand. Then he found some kindling and started a fire in the hearth. Using a few twigs and leaves he soon had a small flame alight. Gradually he added some larger pieces of wood and after twenty minutes he was confident that the fire would continue to burn of its own accord. The small hut had only one large room. But off to the side were two small chambers where in the winter he and his Master slept. The Sage had already commenced his practice in the main room. He sat in the lotus position on a small mat engrossed in his meditation. Augustus went out to the front porch and assumed the lotus position as well and for a half hour ceased the traffic in his mind and concentrated on his breath and was soon in a meditative state also.

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Then he became aware of approaching footsteps on the gravel path leading to his Master’s hut. He looked up and was surprised to see a finely dressed young man marching confidently up the path followed by an attendant pushing a barrow with a couple of chests in it. The young fellow came right up to the porch where Augustus had been meditating. ‘This must be the place,’ he muttered. Turning to the attendant he commanded, ‘Put my chests under the porch. You may then return to my father’s house.’ When he looked more closely he became aware of Augustus. He called out abruptly, ‘Hey you! Is this the house of the Sage, Takygulpa Rinpoche?’ Augustus nodded his agreement. The young man looked around with some disgust. ‘It is not much of a house, is it?’ Augustus smiled. ‘It is a place that I have come to love.’ ‘You can’t have much ambition, then.’ ‘Well, not for grand houses at least,’ agreed Augustus. ‘Can I take it then that you are Yu?’ The young man smiled a proud smile. ‘You have obviously heard of me.’ ‘Just a little. The Master told me you were coming to stay with him. It is a great honour to be accepted by the Master as a pupil.’ ‘A pupil? What do you mean a pupil? I only came to stay with him because he is a friend of my father’s and my mother is ill.’ ‘You are here early this morning. Did you walk through the night?’ The young man looked disdainfully at Augustus. ‘Not 6

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likely!’ he said. ‘That fool of a manservant couldn’t find the spot last night so we were forced to camp beside the path last night in the open.’ The passion in his voice made it plain to Augustus that his visitor was not used to “roughing it”. The exchange at the front of the house had drawn the Master’s attention. He strode out to the front porch and with a quizzical voice asked, ‘Is that Yu?’ Yu responded robustly, ‘I am indeed Yu.’ Yu was a tall good-looking youth with an upright bearing. He was rangy yet muscular with a fine-featured face. Takygulpa Rinpoche, who had never previously seen the boy, was immediately struck by the strong similarity between Yu and his father. ‘Have you come far?’ asked the Sage. ‘A fair journey, Sir. I set off from my father’s house five days ago.’ ‘A good walk indeed, Yu.’ He looked at Augustus and was about to ask him to show Yu in when his eyes fell on the chests. ‘Are these yours, then?’ Yu nodded. ‘This would have been a large burden to have hefted so far!’ The young man laughed. ‘Oh no Sir, it would not be becoming of someone of noble lineage to have to carry such a burden. I had the benefit of one of my father’s manservants. He carried them on a barrow, deposited them here and has now started back to my father’s house.’ The old man said under his breath, ‘The gods are seeking to test me with this one.’ ‘Come in, boy,’ he said out loud, ‘and make yourself at home.’ 7

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They walked into the small abode. Yu frowned at the sparseness of it all. The Sage pointed out the two bedchambers. ‘This is where I sleep. Augustus sleeps in there. For the time being you must share his quarters.’ Yu looked aghast at the tiny room. ‘But Sir, where will I put my chests?’ ‘Don’t worry Yu. We’ll find a good place for them. Tell me, how is your father?’ ‘He is well, Sir.’ ‘And your mother?’ The young man hung his head and a veil of sadness slipped over his face. ‘I am afraid there is no improvement.’ The old man looked sympathetically at Yu. ‘That is a shame. We trust she will get better soon.’ Yu just nodded. Takygulpa Rinpoche continued, ‘As you have observed, my little hut is a modest abode and probably you are unused to living in such confined quarters. But we are fortunate that we live in a beautiful valley and Augustus and I spend a lot of our time out of doors. Why don’t you take yourself outside and walk down to the river. Its waters provide a source of consolation and inspiration. When the soul is hurting, oft-times nature can provide a salve.’ They sat and talked for a little while and then Yu went off, as the Master had suggested, to familiarise himself with his new surroundings. When he was out of earshot Augustus said, ‘He might prove a difficult pupil Master. He told me he had not come to learn from you. What will you do? You can’t compel him to learn.’ 8

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Nor would I want to, Augustus. On the other hand he can not help but learn if I provide a learning environment and demonstrate the ways of truth.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Ted Scott

Ted Scott holds degrees in Electrical Engineering and Economics. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. He was awarded an Order of Australia in the General Division in 2004 for his contribution to industry. Ted is the author of Augustus Finds Serenity, and he is also the co-author of Humanity at Work and The Myth of Nine to Five with Dr Phil Harker. He is now a partner in Human Factor Australia working as a management consultant. He specialises in change management, strategic planning and executive coaching. Ted has served as director or chairman on many boards. He is still currently Chair of the Centre for Integrated Engineering Asset Management and Chair of the Fitzroy Basin Association. Follow Ted Scott via his blog at:

http://tedscott.aampersanda.com

“A timeless message and a parable for our times”.

Dexter Dunphy, Visiting Professor, University of Technology Sydney

the Dragon Tamer

T ED S COTT

About the author

Share some of Ted's thoughts by accessing his blog at http://tedscott.aampersanda.com Fiction/inspirational/depression

ISBN 978-0-9807399-6-1

9 780980 739961

T ED S COTT