A master is never born out of effort. Only slaves try to become masters. A master is simply a master.
It happened in the house of a great warrior. One night he suddenly became aware of a mouse. He was a great warrior, a great swordsman. He became very much angry because the mouse was sitting just in front of him and looking into his eyes. No one had ever dared so much as the mouse was daring. So he pulled out his sword, but the mouse would not run. Then he attacked the mouse, but suddenly the mouse jumped and the sword was broken in pieces; it fell on the floor.
Of course, the warrior became just mad. He tried and tried, and the more he tried, the more he was defeated. It is difficult to fight with a mouse, and once you have started fighting you have accepted defeat. The mouse became bold. With every failure of the warrior, the mouse became more bold. He simply jumped on the warrior's bed. The warrior went out and asked his friends what to do. "This has never happened in my life," he said. "No one can dare so much as an ordinary mouse! But it seems miraculous — I am totally defeated." So the friends said, "It is nonsense to fight with a mouse. It is better to bring in a cat."
But the rumor went out that the warrior had been defeated — and even the cats heard it, so no cat was ready to come. All the cats gathered. They elected a leader and said, "You go, because it is not an ordinary mouse — the warrior has been defeated. We are ordinary cats, and this is a great warrior. If he is defeated, where are we? So we will wait outside and let you go in."
The leader became afraid — leaders are always afraid. They are leaders because cowards are there, and those cowards choose them. They are leaders of the cowards. If there were no cowards, there would not be any leaders. Basically, they are chosen by cowards, so they are leaders of cowards.
The cat had to go, as every leader has to go — because the followers were pushing him. Now that the leader was chosen, nothing could be done, the cat had to go. She entered, afraid, trembling, nervous. The mouse was sitting on the bed. The cat had never seen such a mouse: he was just sitting on the bed. She started thinking what to do, what method to apply, and while she was thinking what to do, what method to apply, what technique — about old experiences and memories, about what to do with this situation — while she was thinking, the mouse suddenly attacked. The cat ran away, because this had never happened in the past! There is no mention in history of a mouse attacking a cat.
She came out and fell dead, so the warrior was advised by the neighborhood that "Now ordinary cats won't do. You go to the palace, bring the king's cat. Only a royal cat can do something. This is not an ordinary case." So the warrior had to go to the king and ask for the cat. The cat from the palace came. The warrior was very much afraid when the cat was coming with him because that cat looked just very ordinary. He was afraid that this was again going to be a failure, because the cat who had died was bigger, greater, a great leader, and this ordinary cat…? It seemed that the king was just joking — this cat won't do. But the warrior couldn't say anything to the king.
He came with that ordinary cat. The cat entered, killed the mouse and came out. All the cats were waiting. They gathered around and they said, "What is the trick? Our leader has died, the warrior has been defeated by the mouse, and you simply killed him. You came out with the dead mouse." The cat said, "I am a cat and he is a mouse. There is no other technique. I am a cat — that is enough. What is the use of any technique? Being a cat is enough. When I entered, it was enough that a cat should enter. I am a cat."
Really, this is a Zen story. If your mind were the master, there would be no need for effort. Every effort is just to deceive yourself: you are not the cat, and you are fighting with the mouse. Become a master! But how to become a master? Tantra says, understanding will make you a master, nothing else. Understanding is the secret of all mastery. If you know it well, you are the master. If you do not know, you will go on fighting. Then you will remain the slave, and the more you fight, the more you will be defeated. You are fighting with a mouse.
OSHO