THE POISON OF SHUNYATA

Once a novice student of the Dharma was walking along the road.

He did not believe he needed a guru, as he had realized emptiness all by himself.

A beautiful rose was growing on a bush.

The student looked at it, then pulled out all its petals and stamped ferousiously on the remains.

A bird, singing in a cherrytree, was silenced by a small rock, hurled from his hand with admirable precision.

He passed a pond, with crystal-clear water and colorful Koi swiming beneath the lotuses.

The student took a small bottle from his bag and emptied it's entire content into the stillness.
The water then went milky white before the fish all floated to the surface.

An old woman had been watching this peculiar behavior, and asked the young man:

"Why are you destroying these expressions of beauty, do you not find the splendor of nature worth admirering-?"

The young man looked at her, and overbearingly replied:

"All things are impermanent by nature. Do you not think it is better to let them return to their true nature as soon as possible-?"

The old woman smiled and said:

"In that case, my dear friend, why don't you go and jump off that tall cliff over there, and realize your OWN true nature-?"