The Debt

Brought to you by Sifu Ray.

One night last week before T'ai Chi, I was sitting on the studio floor stretching. Sifu Ray came over to me and offered me his hands. He pulled me to my feet and started walking toward a group of beginners, which was a signal that he was assigning me to teach them for the evening.

"So, did you get the job?" he asked. I hadn't discussed my new job with Sifu, but I'd chattered about it to pretty much everyone else, so I wasn't surprised he'd heard.

"Yes," I replied, "I start Monday."

"Good. They sound like nice people."

My mental alarm went off. I asked, "You know these people?"

He turned to me, twinkling in his merry "I'm going to reveal some stunning information" way. I've seen this look before, usually when he's about to drop some Taoist wisdom bomb that will take us months if not years to assimilate.

"So they didn't tell you they'd talked to me," he said.

I could only shake my head mutely, because I had just put two and two together. During the hiring process, the HR lady asked me for a list of references, which I supplied. I soon heard from two of my friends that she had contacted them. The first was available to talk to HR lady, but the second wasn't. I got the job anyway, so I had assumed the strength of the first reference was enough, or maybe the second had gotten back in touch later.

But no. Sifu Ray's name was farther down the list.

"I talked to your HR director for over an hour the other day," he continued.Oh holy crap, I thought. "Told them all about you. Said all kinds of nice things — only the truth, of course." By this time Sifu was beaming. "So I figure I pretty much got you that job."

I managed to choke out a thank you.

As we drew up in front of the beginner group, he asked, "So you know what you owe me?"

Easy answer. "Everything."

"Nothing. You owe me nothing." And he was sincere.

But — and this is a rarity — he was wrong. I do owe him everything. I owe him for the time he took to give the reference, especially when I hadn't even warned him he might be called; I really thought the HR lady would call my several publishing-type contacts first. And I owe him for his praise, with which he was generous.

Most of all, though, I owe him for my deserving any praise. If I were not his student, his disciple, I could make no pretense to serenity or harmony. T'ai Chi has taught me these things, and Sifu Ray has taught me T'ai Chi. The lessons continue to humble me.

Today around the world: March 29 is Boganda Day in the Central African Republic.