The prize divides us

I wish I could learn to remember this, to make it really part of me (translated by Thomas Merton) --

When an archer is shooting for nothing 
  He has all his skill.
  If he shoots for a brass buckle
  He is already nervous.
  If he shoots for a prize of gold
  He goes blind
  Or sees two targets--
  He is out of his mind!

    His skill has not changed.  But the prize
  Divides him.  He cares.
  He thinks more of winning
  Than of shooting--
  And the need to win
  Drains him of power.

 

In a similar vein --

No use fretting over gold, beauty or fame;
Nurturing these, how can we calm
Our fluttering heart?

Non attachment brings deep truth,
And a truthful nature brings immortality.

Empty your heart,
Sit quietly on a mat.

In meditation we become one with All;
Tao billows like the vapors
In a mountain valley,
And its supernatural power wafts into our soul.

-- Loy Ching-Yuen (1873-1960)