Black Cat Syndrome

The "Black Cat Syndrome" is a pet topic starter for trainers conducting courses on the elements of change...the change agents, the change factors, the need to change perceptions, change mindsets.....nothing remains unchanged.

Another favorite is the quotation from Buddha: "All conditioned things are impermanent and subject to change".

The following is the story about the black cat:

Once upon a time, there was a temple on top of a mountain. Daily, the Chief Abbot of the temple conducts chanting and meditation sessions for the monks. During the chanting, the monks have to sit motionless.

One day during the chanting session, a black cat appeared and ran around the meditation hall. The blank cat disturbs the monks, scratching them and making noises. The monks could not do anything and continued chanting.

After awhile, the Chief Abbot then instructed two monks to catch the black cat and tie it to a pillar in the meditation hall. The monks could then chant in peace, undisturbed by the roaming black cat.

Henceforth, before the start of every chanting session, the black cat will be tied to the pillar.

This practice went on for a long time.

When the Chief Abbot died, his disciple replaced him as the new Chief Abbot.

One day, the black cat also died.

When the new Chief Abbot started the chanting session the following day and found that no black cat was tied to the pillar in the hall, he instructed two monks to go to the forest to catch a black cat and tie it to the pillar. The chanting session then resumed.

A black cat must be tied to the pillar before the start of every chanting session. This practice continued over and over and over....

Nobody ever tried to find out why a black cat must be tied to the pillar of the meditation hall before the chanting session could start.

What is the moral of the story?

Certain traditional practices are passed down over the generations and nobody knows how such practices originated, and why some obsolete practices are still continued because of the resistance to change.