Sometimes the teaching of Chan can be as frustrating as the learning of it.

 

There was once a Chan Master who undertook the instruction of three novices. He explained to them the need for spiritual discipline and ordered that, starting from that very moment, they observe the rule of absolute silence. Then, holding his finger to his lips, he ordered them to go to their rooms.

 

The first novice said, “Oh, Master, please let me tell you how grateful I am to receive your instruction!”

 

Whereupon the second novice said, “You fool! Don’t you realize that by saying that you broke the rule of silence.”

 

And the third novice threw his hands up and wailed, “Lord! Am I the only person around here who can follow orders?”

 

Sometimes we look around and suppose that nobody else measures up to our standards. We are like those three novices. Often, like that first novice, we say we want to learn but then we don’t really pay attention to what our books or teachers tell us. Or, like the second novice, we understand the rules but think that they apply only to others. Or like the third novice, we clamor for praise every time we do what we’re supposed to do.