Sensei planned a long, ten thousand mile road trip with Eager Monk and Ego Monk.
The idea was to travel across many cities, meet many people, bless, guide and help followers & seekers. The trip was planned to take a year to complete.
The route was charted out, the milestones chosen, the paths marked. The logistics agreed upon and the grand plan decided, signed and sealed.
On the day of the journey, Sensei took a seat at the back of the car. Eager Monk was driving and Ego Monk was navigating the car.
The car engine growled, and its tyres crunched the porch gravel. Just as the car reached the Monastery gate, Ego Monk said, “Take a left. That’s the shortest route to reach the highway.”
Eager Monk said, “No. We have to turn right. That’s the shortest path.”
Irrespective of which side the car turned, just by traveling a few hundred meters, the car would have reached the highway.
Ego Monk said, “Left, left, left, left, left, left…”
Eager Monk said, “Right, right, right, right, right, right…”
The car, the monks and the day remained still. Argument and dissidence rained everywhere. It was like black rain.
An hour later, things were status quo.
When the two fighting monks finally looked back to request Sensei for a verdict, they were shocked to realize that he was no longer in the car. He had vanished into thin air…
***
Truthfully speaking, Sensei had not vanished. He had calmly walked out of the car and headed back to the Monastery. The two argumentative monks had not noticed him leaving.
In the meditation room, Sensei had performed ‘see-saw breath’ meditation with the monks and told them, “I failed today. My journey of a thousand miles could not even begin with a single mile.
The reason was because of my mistake. I should have remembered that no matter how eager you are, you cannot have an ego. And if you have an ego, then no matter how eager you are, you cannot go far….”
*****