This morning, a new batch of monks assembled in the winter garden, to attempt the entrance test of the Monastery.
Head Monk swiftly walked across the lawn and gave each monk a small bowl filled with five peanuts. He then said, “Go feed a greedy man, a selfish man, a dishonest man, a sincere man and spiritual man one peanut each. And come back in seven minutes.”
There was chaos amongst the new monks. A few of them quickly ran in different directions, a couple of them began to pray and one of them just sat down, perplexed. Only one monk immediately ate all the peanuts, and then returned his bowl to Head Monk, after gently bowing to him.
Once all the monks had assembled again, Sensei said, “If you want to grow, you must realize that you are filled with many faults, and accept these faults without hesitation. Accepting one’s faults is the first step towards overcoming them.”
*****
