FiveHeavenlySutras

The Sutra of Inner Strength:

Once there was a man;
and he wanted to be strong in battle.
He made a sword,
and so he became strong.
His son made the sword an extension of himself,
and he became the finest swordsman in the land.
The son's son took the sword into his heart,
and he could strike an enemy at a hundred paces, even barehanded.

But the son's son's son threw away the sword
and left no place for it in his heart.
Eschewing strife
and embracing peace,
he was the strongest of them all.

   -Taken from the preface to The Deadly Art of Snake Combat, author unknown

The Sutra of the Beasts, or Twin Snakes Sutra:

Once, there were two snakes
and how they fought!
The first snake struck swiftly;
but the second slipped away
and the swaying of his head confused his foe.
The first snake struck deeply with hard, sharp teeth:
his fangs pierced scales and flesh.
The second snake reared back in pain:
and bit his enemy's tail.
They spat poison at one another
and bit in flurries of deadly attacks
that weakened them both with pain.
Finally they locked together
biting each other in the neck
injecting the last of their venom
and so they both died.

  -Taken from Chapter 10, "Observations of the First Sifu," 
of The Deadly Art of Snake Combat, author unknown

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