Enlightening the master

The novitiate was in charge of the temple garden because he loved flowers and plants. One day when some special guests were expected, he took extra care in tending the garden - pulling out weeds, trimming shrubs and raking the leaves. Now it so happened that next door in another temple lived an old Master who was watching him with interest from across the wall.

"There is something missing," he said when saw the finished work. "Help me over this wall and I will put it right for you." After hesitating, the novice lifted the old man over and set him down. Slowly, the Master walked to the tree near the centre of the garden, grabbed it by the trunk, and shook it. Leaves showered down all over the garden. "There," he said, "you can put me back now."

"Right, I get it," said the novice after some deep thought. "It's a lesson from the Thoreau school of nature appreciation. People should make an effort to do away with the facades they project in everyday life. You should present yourself as freely as possible and not feel so uncomfortable with your identity that you become something you're not." The old Master nodded.

"And also, that nature is more perfect than anything man can create. To disrupt that beauty for the sake of creating something beautiful is an absurdity. Beauty is not something you make. It happens spontaneously and naturally by itself. Therefore, there's no need to shake a tree in order to make some leaves fall untimely so that the garden looks natural." Again, the old Master nodded.