“Explain further,” said the disciples, who had formed a small circle around the master.
The master gathered 4 twigs and formed a letter “M” on the ground. “Tell me what you see,” said the master.
One said, “I see an ‘M’.”
Another said, “I see 2 mountains.”
A disciple positioned sideways said, “I see ‘3’.”
Another in front of the master said, “I see a ‘W’.”
And still another said, “I see the letter ‘E’.”
The master raised his hand and said, “See? You all saw reality according to how your mind perceived it. You interpreted it according to the symbols and preconceptions you have. In reality, there are only 4 twigs on the ground, nothing more.”
Great! This story washes the heart from all prejudices and enables us to see a real light.
yeah, there are 4 things in the ground, nothing more…no interpretation at all should be…just thing simply…
Nowadays reality is hard to interpreted.
Its sound easy for the master because he hold the answer for the question. Should try the other way around then.
@Tomas: Good to hear from you again.
@Arief: Thanks.
@Zezebel: The master never said it was easy. And yes, I agree that reality is hard to interpret nowadays because we have so much judgment coming from people around us and the media. We are more exposed to what other people think and feel and that creates more prejudices for us.
It is hard, that is why masters are few.
I love that story. It is so true. Our perceptions often cloud reality and our ignorance convinces us that what we see is truth.