2016-06-30
Everybody wants to be somebody: Nobody wants to grow.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

From "Breath Sweeps Mind: A First Guide to Meditation Practice" edited by Jean Smith:

The Christian Desert Fathers tell of a new student who was commanded by his master that for three years he must give money to everyone who insulted him. When this period of trial was over, the master said, 'Now you can go to Alexandria and truly learn wisdom.' When the student entered Alexandria, he met a certain wise man whose way of teaching was to sit at the city gate insulting everyone who came and went. He naturally insulted the student also, who immediately burst out laughing. 'Why do you laugh when I insult you?' said the wise man. 'Because,' said the student, 'for years I've been paying for this kind of thing, and now you give it to me for free!' 'Enter the city,' said the wise man. 'It is all yours.'

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