Three dervishes, determined to find the Truth, reached the house of one of the great teachers. They asked him to help them; instead of answering, he led them into his garden. Having picked up a branch of a dry tree, he moved from one flower bed to another, cutting off the inflorescences of the tallest ones.
When they returned to the house, the sage sat among his disciples and asked:
- What did my actions mean? Any of you who can explain them correctly will be admitted to the Teaching.
The first dervish said:
“My explanation of the lesson is this: people who imagine that they know more than others must undergo leveling in the Teaching.
The second dervish said:
- My understanding of actions is this: things that are beautiful in appearance may be insignificant in general.
The third dervish said:
“I would describe what you pointed out like this: a dead thing, even if it is a branch of confirmed knowledge, can nevertheless cause harm to something that is alive.
Master said:
- You are all accepted, because the meanings are divided between you. None of you knows everything; what you all have is not complete, but what each of you said is true.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru