 ou know how children are—always playfully testing and
pushing the boundaries, to find out what they can get away with. But for
this young student at the monastery, the matter was serious. He had a
grudge against his teacher and he was determined to prove him wrong. After
weeks of intense scheming, he finally concocted a devilish plan that he
thought was a fool-proof way of ridiculing his master.
One early morning, on his way to lessons, he
caught a baby dove which he hid in the palm of his hands. In front of the
whole class he showed his cupped hands to his teacher.
“Master, I know that you know everything, so I
want you to solve this riddle that I've designed for you. I have in my
hands a dove. Can you tell me if it is alive or dead?”
His plan could not fail. If the master said the
dove was alive, the student would subtly break its neck within his closed
palms. If the master said it was dead, the student would simply open his
hands and show that it was alive. Either way, the master would be wrong.
The monk had great intuition and knew the evil
plan of his student. But his answer defeated his student. What did he say?
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