Kill the Pigeon

One day a teacher sent his two disciples into the forest, in different directions, with a pigeon each.

He told them, “Find a place where no one is looking at you and secretly kill the pigeon. Then bring the body back to me to prove that you have done it.”

The disciples set off in different directions. The first one found a secluded spot, killed his pigeon and brought the body back to his Master. They both waited for a long time but the second disciple didn’t return. Eventually they had to go looking for him. They found him under a tree with the live pigeon still in his hands.

When the Master asked him why he hadn’t carried out his instructions, the disciple replied, “I couldn’t. You told me to find a spot where no one was looking at me, but wherever I go this pigeon is staring at me.”

“Ah,” said the Master, “If you look at him, then he is looking at you. But if you go to the substratum, you will not be looking at anything, and no one will be able to see you.”

Be vigilant. Your mind has compared the vastness of the ocean with the smallness of a lake that you have seen before. Don’t let your mind dwell like this on any object of vision. What is the difference between a thousand drops and a single drop? If you look at the depths, you see only water. 

This is the way to look. If you see a ‘you’, it is always in relationship to a ‘me’. Dive to the substratum of all vision.