Once upon a time in ancient China, there was a sage
who taught the Tao to three disciples at a distant temple.
Once every few months, they would make the long trip
into town to purchase supplies.
On one of these trips, they paused by a field
overgrown with weeds. The sage said to the disciples:
"This field is like the human mind, and the weeds are
like negative thoughts. Tell me, what do you think is the
best way to get rid of the weeds?"
The first disciple was quick to answer: "Just pull up
the weeds with your hands, Master. What can be easier
than that?"
The second disciple disagreed: "That is not very
effective. Look at how many weeds there are. You can
only do so much before you get tired. The best way is
to use tools like the shovel to uproot the weeds. In the
same amount of time, you can do a lot more with less
effort."
The third disciple shook his head: "Even that is not
effective enough. Look at how big this field is. Even
with tools, it will still take quite a while, and it will still
be exhausting. The best way is fire. Set up a perimeter
around the field, and then burn the whole thing. It takes
some effort to preapre, but once that's done, you just
stand back and watch the fire do all the work for you."
The sage smiled approvingly: "You've given three
answers that are quite different, but all interesting. Tell
me, how does your answer correspond with the Tao?"
The first disciple was again the quickest to respond:
"Pulling up the weeds by hand is like confronting each
negative thought directly, getting a firm hold of it, and
then having the satisfaction of uprooting it from the
mind. I believe this is the Tao at the purest and most
personal level."
The second disciple thought for a moment: "Just as
this field has too many weeds to clear by hand, the mind
has too many negative thoughts to eliminate one by
one. I need the tools of cultivation, such as meditation,
mantras and sutras. These spiritual tools are standard
not only for us, but also for other followers of the Tao,
so it is quite obvious that my idea is much closer to the
Tao."
The third disciple was also thoughtful: "My method
is like establishing communion with the gods and
the buddhas. Burning the field with fire is like using
the sacred powers of the divine to sweep the mind
completely clear of negative thoughts. This is the most
powerful method, and therefore must also be the closest
to the Tao."
Again the sage smiled in approval: "These are all
valid comparisons. We can continue on our way now,
but I want all of you to keep this discussion in mind,
and think about your solution some more."
Months passed, and soon it was time to go into town
for supplies again. The sage and the disciples passed by
the same field as before, but this time it was different.
They saw that farmers had turned it into rice paddies.
The sage turned to them and said: "This is the reason
why I did not name any of your answers as the correct
one. None of you touched the level of the Tao."
The first disciple was curious: "What was wrong
with our solutions, Master?"
"They were all temporary measures." The sage
pointed out: "The weeds will grow back after you have
cleared the field, regardless of your method. The only
way to ensure that won't happen is to replace the weeds
with something else - like the rice crop you see in front
of you. Similarly, it is not enough to eliminate negative
thoughts from your mind. You must also plant the seeds
of positive thoughts. That is the only way to ensure that
the negativity will never return."