Master Tells Stories
A Master's Test
Supreme Master Ching Hai, Taipei, Formosa,
August 3, 1985 (Originally in English and Chinese) CD
No. CE01
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Once there was a very famous Master, who had many disciples. And before he died, he didn’t know which one to give the successorship to. He already knew one to give the successorship to, to replace him when he died, but he was not so sure. So he made a test.
He told all his disciples to go into a big field, and instructed each one to build a house for him. He said whoever built the best house, he would give the successorship to that person, to that disciple. But, everyone built a house and then he came when they were finished, and said, “No, I don’t like them, tear them down and build them again.” He ordered them many times like that, and so his disciples became fewer and fewer. They thought, “Our Master is crazy. Because he’s old now, he doesn’t know what he’s doing anymore. So we’d better leave him, and not waste our time.” or “What kind of Master is that? He doesn’t even know what he wants, and he always makes trouble for us. Building houses and tearing them down again and building houses and tearing them down again - what’s the use of that?” This is almost the same as the story of Milarepa.
So at last, nearly all of the Master’s disciples left him, including one who built a house sixty-nine times. Then there was only one disciple left. He built a house seventy times, the last one. So then of course he gave the successorship to this person.
It’s not because of his patience
that the disciple stayed behind, but because this disciple had inner
knowledge; he knew how great his Master was from his own experience
and wisdom. If a disciple doesn’t reach a certain level, there’s
no way for him to understand how great his Master is for they are at
different levels of consciousness. For example, a child is not able
to completely understand what his father knows. Even though his father
teaches him, he may not understand at all. Only when he grows older
will he understand those things.
