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As the Master was in the woods
watching the birds and taking in the
surroundings, Grasshopper approached and
joined him. Grasshopper held the Master
in very high esteem—Master seemed to be
intimate with all of life, and he was
very wise.
Grasshopper put this question to his
Master, “Master, are you here to teach
nature your wisdom?”
Upon hearing such an innocent question,
the Master paused with a smile. “Why do
you ask this question, Grasshopper?
Grasshopper insisted, “Master, you have
helped me to see the invisible, to learn
about nature and the mystery of
thought—you must surely be helping
nature to understand as well.”
Master understood the nature of
Grasshopper’s inquiry, so he had a
dialogue with the young pupil. “Whenever
you listen to Master, do you
automatically conform to the teaching—to
the lesson? You see Grasshopper—learning
is not conforming, learning is not
obedience, learning is not imitating
another, do you understand?”
“But Master, if this is not learning,
how is one to know the nature of
learning?”
“Grasshopper, uncovering the nature of
learning is the questioning of one’s
motivations, understanding the mechanics
of why change occurs in one. Is change
in oneself, or another intimate—sincere,
or a submission of compliance? Do you
see?”
Grasshopper was puzzled and asked
Master, “Is this the way of learning in
the world today?”
“In the world today, conformity is the
motivation and the purpose for learning,
is it not? What passes for learning
today is acquiring mentally, to absorb
and memorize, to pass examinations, and
to fit in. One is driven to be somebody
important, or to have rank and stature,
power and position.”
“Master, is there not a learning of a
different nature or quality?”
“That’s a very important question,
Grasshopper. There is a learning that is
rooted in exploration and discovery; the
learning that flows from understanding,
and the need to find out; learning in
which conforming is completely absent,
and indeed, where a need to understand
the nature of a thing is the primary
purpose for learning; learning born of
attention to what is, to attend to one’s
life, which unfolds in the moment, the
place where separation and division
cease to exist. Have I made myself clear
Grasshopper?”
“Yes Master.”
“You see, Grasshopper, as Master sits
here in the woods—Master and Nature are
one, division is absent. Here lies the
quality of learning in which Master is
both teacher and pupil unto himself—he
is the reflection of himself. A state of
pure observation of what is—in which
insight and transformation may ensue.”
“I see the difference Master—now the
invisible is visible.”
“Yes Grasshopper—that’s it.”
Both Master and Grasshopper continued to
sit quietly in the woods, engulfed by
the mysteries of discovery.
V.P. Mosser
©2001-2008 V.P. Mosser
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Successful entrepreneur, V.P. Mosser is
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