|
"Oh, great and wise Master, please
tell me. What is the meaning of life?" the student asked. |
|
The Master replied: |
 |
|
Long ago in the jungles of southern India, my son,
there lived a bird. |
|
The bird, while traveling through the jungle one
day, came upon a single,
shiny gold piece lying on the jungle
floor, having been dropped there by a passing
traveler. |
|
The bird thought that the gold piece was so shiny
and so pretty that he
must have it. He swooped to the jungle
floor and picked up the coin in his beak. But
the gold slipped from his beak. The bird tried
again to pick it up, and
again it fell. He tried to pick it up in
his powerful claws, but still it slipped from his
grasp. |
|
The gold piece lay on the ground. |
|
The bird was frustrated, but determined that the
gold piece should be his.
So he flew to perch above the shiny
trinket and there he stayed to guard his prize. |
|
A time later, a monkey passed by. The monkey also
saw the shiny, gold coin,
and deciding he would like to have
it for himself, he bent down and picked it up in
his dexterous fingers. He held it firmly in
his hand and continued
on his journey. |
|
The bird became angry. He flew down from his perch,
screeching madly at the monkey. |
|
"That shiny, gold coin belongs to me!"
the bird squawked. |
|
"Oh, I'm very sorry." the monkey apologized
immediately. "I did not realize that
the coin belonged to you,
sir. It was not my intention to steal your
coin. Please forgive me this most innocent
error. Here, please take
back the coin." |
|
The monkey held out his hand to the bird so that
the bird might reclaim
his possession. The bird pecked the coin
from his hand, but, as before, it fell to the
ground. The bird tried to pick it up in his
beak, but it fell again.
He tried again to pick it up with his claws,
but the coin slipped quietly to the ground. |
|
The monkey observed, "You claim the coin is
yours, yet you cannot
carry it." |
|
The bird felt this fact to be irrelevant. "I
found the coin first.
I have been guarding it. I own the coin. It
is mine." |
|
"Perhaps we can cooperate in this matter."
suggested the monkey. |
|
"In what way do you suggest?" asked the
bird. |
|
"You may continue to own the coin,"
the monkey began, the
bird nodding, "while at the same time, I may have
the coin." With that, the monkey picked
up the coin, and carrying
it firmly in his grasp, walked away into the
jungle. |
|
|
The Master became quiet. |
|
The student was somewhat confused.
"But what is the moral of this
tale?" he asked. |
|
The Master opened his eyes and looked
at the student. "A blind
man cannot have what he cannot
hold." |
|
They remained quiet for a while longer,
while the student contemplated
this, but the student remained confused. "A blind
man? I don't understand, oh,
great and wise Master. Your story
made no mention of a blind man." |
|
"Didn't I mention?" the
Master laughed, "After this, the bird
followed the monkey into the
jungle and pecked his eyes out." |
|
"Oh. I see." said the student,
but he did not. |
