"'The Jade Master' is a story in a book by Ed Seykota called 'The Trader's
Window.' It's about a young man who didn't know what to do with his life."
"He had heard about a man known as the jade master who lived about five miles
away. One day the young man said to himself, 'Even though it's winter, I'm
going to visit the jade master and learn all about jade.'"
"So he walks five miles through the snow and bitter cold. Finally he comes to
the jade master's house and knocks on the door. An old man with a broom in his
hand opens it. 'Yes? What can I do for you?'"
"The young man says, 'I've come to learn about jade. Would you take me as your
student?'"
"'Sure,' the old man says. 'Come on in.'"
"Inside the house the jade master makes the young man a cup of green tea, then
presses a green stone into his hand. 'Hold that while we talk,' he says. And
as they sip their tea on this cold winter day, the old man begins telling a
story about a green tree frog."
"The young man becomes very impatient. He doesn't want to hear about tree
frogs. 'Excuse me,' he says, 'I came here to learn about jade.'"
"'Oh, excuse me,' the old man says, 'Why don't you come back next week?'"
"Puzzled, the young man heads for home. The following week he trudges all the
way back through five miles of cold snow. The old man opens the door and lets
him in. He makes the hot tea, presses this green stone into the student's hand,
and again begins to talk about a green tree frog."
"This time the young man is able to listen a little bit longer. Finally he
says, 'Excuse me, but I came here to learn about jade.' He thinks the old man
is going senile on him."
"'Oh, excuse me,' the jade masters says, 'Maybe you'd better just go home now
and come back next week.'"
"This went on all winter long, and each time the young man returned, he would
interrupt the jade master less and less. In the meantime, he learned a few
things. He now knew how to make green tea and how to sweep the kitchen floor
with the broom. As he and the old man became friends, he began to make himself
useful and help with the things that needed to be done."
"As always, the old man would sit down and start talking about the green tree
frog. The young man just listened now, never interrupting until the old man
got tired. Then he would trudge home through five miles of snow and come back
the following week."
"One day he arrived for his weekly visit. It was spring now, much easier to
make the five-mile walk. The jade master opened the door and told him to come
in. As the student sat down, the old man pressed the green stone into his hand
and gave him a cup of green tea. Again he began to tell the story of the green
tree frog."
"Wait a minute,' the young man said. 'This isn't jade.' Suddenly he knew that
the green stone in his hand wasn't jade."
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