Chinese Whispers

In WW1 there’s a story that in the trenches commands were ‘passed down the line’ and by the time “send reinforcements we’re going to advance” had gone down a long line of men it had become “send two and sixpence were going to a dance!”

We never know how much knowledge passed down orally has become corrupted. I come across it regularly because I’m old and have studied the classics for over 50 years and often know the uncorrupted versions.

But even then, were the original and revered ‘masters’ that good? The stories and legends of both Tai Chi and Karate masters are just that. Stories and legends, often changed and exaggerated to suit the politics of the storyteller.

Myths and legends, like our fairy tales are designed to make a point and not meant to be taken seriously, so they are a good way of passing knowledge on as long as both storyteller and listeners understand that they are just that, stories.

Jesus told parables and the Buddha told sutras, meant to pass on knowledge and not to be believed and of course they also became the focus of such exaggerated stories and legends themselves.

So when anyone says ‘master so and so said, or did’ – take it with a huge pinch of salt and don’t forget that any knowledge passed down through the generations is probably corrupted and worthless unless validated.