The Codeless Code: Case 78 Crashing the Third Gate
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The young monk Djishin of the Laughing Monkey Clan was said
to prefer coding to eating or sleeping. But while his output
was prodigious, much of it was unwelcome: he ignored
third-party libraries and frameworks, preferring to develop
his own inferior substitutes. Despite repeated attempts at
correction, Djishin continued to implement things that did
not need implementing, and often to do so poorly.
Master Banzen, suspecting that he understood the boy’s
unquenchable zeal, sent for him.
“What are the Five Gates of Implementation?” asked Banzen.
Djishin repeated dutifully:
“That the Temple is in need;
that the need is best met by code;
that the code does not yet exist;
that the existence may be achieved with reasonable effort;
that the effort is best expended now and by myself.”
Banzen began to lecture the monk on the importance of the
Third Gate. “Master,” protested Djishin, “I do not doubt
that there are fine blades in the marketplace, but many are
heavy to wield and hard to master. My boning-knife may be
small and dull, but it has served me well.
That evening, Banzen re-assigned Djishin to the One Shoe
Clan and gave him a double workload of coding tasks, none of
which were critical to the Temple’s activities. And since
the One Shoe Clan did not merit their own hall, Djishin was
relocated to a sunless broom-closet far removed from the
daily bustle of Temple life.
Master Suku, who was fond of the monk, petitioned Banzen for
leniency. Banzen dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
“I did not correct the monk; I corrected the temple,” said
Banzen. “Djishin only wishes to sharpen his knife. The
temple gave him chickens to gut and carve. I have given him
a whetstone.”
