The dew drop

A student who did not perform well wanted to become the monk’s favourite student. So she started reading up a lot and began participating well in the classes. It was very obvious to every one that she was the most participative, but when it came down to representation of the monastery the monk always chose other students.

On an early morning she approached the monk and asked why when she being so participative and well read that she is not able to win the heart of the monk. The monk gets inside the temple and brings a diamond nose pin, holds it close to a dew drop on a leaf and asked which one is brilliant. The student replied that the dew drop looks very brilliant as it magnifies the leaf, shows different colours and also gleams more than the diamond.

The monk asks the student to stay there for an hour to observe what happens. The student comes back and says that she cannot compare as the dew drop has disappeared, the monk smiles and takes back the diamond saying “You are like a dew drop now, come back as a diamond”.