The Zen master Gutei made a practice of raising his finger whenever he explained a question about Zen. A very young disciple began to imitate him, and whenever anyone asked the disciple what his master had been preaching about, the boy would raise his finger. Gutei got to hear about this, and when he came upon the boy as he was doing it one day, he seized the boy, whipped out a knife, cut off his finger, and threw it away. As the boy ran off howling Gutei shouted, "Stop!" The boy stopped, turned round, and looked at his master through his tears. Gutei was holding up his own finger. The boy went to hold up his finger, and when he realized it wasn't there he bowed. In that instant he became enlightened.Be true to yourself, because your own truth can lead you to the ultimate truth. Nobody else's truth can be your truth. You have a seed within you. Only if that seed sprouts and becomes a tree will you have a flowering; then you will have an ecstasy, a benediction. But if you are following others that seed will remain dead. And you may accumulate all the ideals in the world and become successful, but you will feel empty, because nothing else can fill you--only your seed, when it becomes a tree, will fill you. You will feel fulfillment only when your truth has come to flower, never before.
You are the light within--not the lamp, but the flame.
The Transformation Tarot
