Paving the Way to Inner Growth

A teacher decided to appoint one of his disciples as his assistant on an arduous journey. He told his disciples, “On this trip you will meet many upsetting experiences. How will they give you any inner profit? On the basis of your answers, I will decide who will assist me on this journey.” The disciples’ responded in the following manner:

First disciple: “I will imitate your responses to them.”

Second disciple: “We will fight them and hope to win.”

Third disciple: “I will calmly study my own reactions to them.”