Thus have I heard, the master Josie-roshi was dwelling in the hollow on Six Mile Road, where she undertook the training of her young disciple (me). Employing her dharma wisdom, she had him following along on a series of frequent long walks, the half way point of which stopped briefly at a cemetery upon a high hill facing the mountains. Descending again, she stopped at the side of a small chapel, where she sat and faced the wall.
With no explanation for this unplanned respite, her young disciple shifted nervously back and forth, wanting to continue. After several long minutes, a small mouse appeared out of a small hole in the wall next to the pavement. The roshi looked up at her disciple, nodded, stood up and resumed the walk. Thus was completed the lesson on patience. At a later teizo (a one on one meeting with the master), she expounded on the dharma thusly:
We learn from our mistakes. The learning takes place immediately after the mistakes occur, or else it is not learned at all. The learning takes place in the immediate past. It is non-productive to dwell on the distant past. If one puts one’s focus on things that can yet be accomplished, then by definition your focus is on the future. Therefore one should always focus on self improvement, either in physical health or behavioral adjustment, or enlarging your skill sets. Live therefore in the present as a process of improvement, and of subduing all unproductive thoughts.
Update: Although the master often would deliver a teizo (teisho, or dharma talk), I realize I should have specified a dokusan, which is the one on one meeting with the teacher.