I’m just going to go ahead and steal this straight off Jon Jitsu, his blog is well worth checking out if you’re into Martial Arts.
After a long day of kicking ass and helping the needy, two Shaolin monks were walking down a path that ran parallel to a river that was swollen and raging from recent storms. Farther down the path, the two monks came upon an old woman who stood at the edge of the river gazing at the remains of a bridge that had washed away. One monk picked up the old woman, deftly ran across the raging water, jumping from wave crest to wave crest as light as a feather, and sat the old woman down gently on the other side. Without so much as a smile or a word, the old woman rose and continued on her way.
Running back across the water, the first monk joined the second and they continued walking down the path. A few hours later, the second monk turned to the first and asked, “How can you stand it? That woman never thanked you for your kindness. It was rude.”
The first monk turns to the second and says, “Grasshopper, I set that woman down hours ago. Why are you still carrying her?