the would be student

[desmond dillon]

  

  

  There was once a young man who had heard tell that there was a great power waiting to be discovered  in the heart of every human being...  it was also said that only a truly wise man could put you in touch with your own heart in such a way that you could know this power... and so it was that the young man began his search to find a living wise man who could help him.. he asked and he searched  and eventually he was told that such a man did live only a long way away. So he packed his bag and set off to find him.

      . Many things happened on the way but he eventually arrived and asked the man if he would teach him the wisdom. No problem but first he must pass a simple test. The thought of being tested concerned the young man but he was relieved to hear what the test was. He had to spend some time with the teacher and he was required to stay silent no matter what happened. Easy, he thought.. no trouble to keep silent.

       The next day they set off together and the wise man took him to a well. He sat down and began to watch his would be teacher draw water with a rope and a bucket from the well. Except that he couldn't help but notice that the bucket being used had holes in the bottom and as the water was drawn up it leaked so that when it came to the top it was empty. This didn't seem to bother the wise man as he just threw the bucket down the well and began to draw it up again... this process repeated several times and the young man wanted to say something but he remembered to stay quiet. However as it went on and on he began to think to himself. 'this is crazy.. he will never get water out. maybe this man is not wise..'  and then he thought 'what am i doing here watching a pointless activity?' In the end he could take no more and he blurted out  'Stop.. enough i can watch no more. You can never draw water with a bucket full of holes you must get a new bucket.'  The wise man simply responded by saying 'i asked you to stay quiet but you could not contain yourself because you are full of holes and the wisdom i would pour into you would leak out the same as this bucket.. i would be truly crazy to engage in such pointless activity. You must return to your home and learn to contain yourself before i can teach you anything'