Words from the Master

In a Zen monastery, there was a competition among disciples on who had the best garden.

One disciple was a very serious sort.
He took the competition also very seriously.
He kept his garden always neat and clean, and well-swept. All the grass was of the same height. All the bushes were neatly trimmed.
He was sure that he would get the first prize.

On the day of the competition, the Master went around all the gardens.
Then he came back and ranked the gardens.
This disciple’s garden got the lowest ranking.
Everyone was shocked.

The disciple went and questioned the Master about it.
He asked, “Master, what is wrong with my garden? Why did you rank me the lowest?”
The Master looked at him and asked, “Where are all the dead leaves?”

A garden maintained in such a way is no longer alive! It is dead.
Seriousness kills spontaneity. It destroys creativity.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Guaranteed Solutions.