WE LISTEN, BUT WE DO NOT HEAR


The first meeting between the young Master Tao and the blind monk Master Tzu:

Tao: "Of all things, to live in darkness must be the worst."  
Tzu: "Fear is the only darkness. Never assume, because a man has no eyes, he cannot see."Close your eyes. What do you hear?'

Tao:"I hear the water. I hear the birds."
Tzu:"Do you hear your own heartbeat?"
Tao:"No."
Tzu:"Do you hear the grasshopper which sits by your feet?"

Tao opens his eyes and looks down at his feet to see a grasshopper there.
"Old Man, how is it that you hear these things?"
"Young Man, how is it, that you do not?"