Hi Richard,
How many times was your work disturbed by emotion? How many times did you start a fight with others due to emotion (意氣之爭)? One should keep asking oneself, "Does all these emotions help achieving my goals?" If not, let's learn how to put them aside.
One day, a monk took his student to a village for alms begging (化緣). As they approached a small river, they saw a girl walking back and forth looking very concerned.
"Lady", asked the monk, "you look very concerned. What is troubling you?"
"I want to cross the river to visit my dad who is very sick, but the bridge had fallen. Where is the next nearest bridge?" "The next closest one is many miles away. But, don't worry. I will carry you across the river."
So, the monk carried the girl on his back and walked across the river stream. Once they reached the other side, he put her down and, saying farewell to each other, went on their ways separately.
Observing the whole thing, the student was rather uneasy. He thought, "Doesn't the Lord Buddha teach us to keep a distance from women? The master yet today carried a girl on his back across a river! That does not make any sense."
Over the next couple of month, the whole thing was still bothering him in his mind. Finally, the student could not stand it any longer and raised the issue with his master.
Upon hearing this, the monk burst into laughter: "I had put down the girl ever since I had crossed the river. You must be very tired carrying her around for the last two months!"
With love, Patrick