Searching for a Master

Edited by Bp. Joseph Boyd (Ancient Church of the West)

A man went in search of a master. He was ready to go around the world, but he was determined to find a teacher, a true Elder, a real spiritual father to help him understand the mysteries of God, holiness, and the Way of the Spirit. 

Outside his village he met an old man, a wizened fellow sitting under a tree in a black monk’s robe. He asked the old man, "You are old and experienced, have you heard of a good master to follow in all your long years of wandering?”

He said, "Yes, I am a wanderer for many years, searching for the ways of God. I wandered all over the earth in pursuit of this goal. " 

The man said, "Can you suggest to me where I should go? So that I, too, can find a true spiritual father?” 

The old man suggested a few places to him, a few monasteries in holy places, an old ascetic here, a great elder there, and the young man thanked him and went on. 

After thirty years of wandering around the earth and finding nobody who exactly fulfilled his expectations, he came home dejected and depressed, ready to give up on his spiritual life. The moment he entered his village he saw the old monk who had become very old now, and was still sitting under the same tree. And suddenly he recognized that he was the master he was seeking! He fell at his feet and said, "Why didn't you say it to me that you were the master I sought?" 

The old monk said, "It was not the right time for you. You could not recognize me. You needed some experience. Wandering around the earth gave you a certain maturity, a certain understanding. Now you see. Last time you had met me, but did not see me. You missed who I was, sitting in front of you. You were asking me about some master. That was enough proof that you could not smell the fragrance of the flowers in front of you. You were utterly blind. Because of this, I gave you some fake places, filled with showy and vain men, so you could go and experience real pain, suffering, struggle and search. Even though you found the wrong people, it was still good for you, because that is how one learns. For thirty years I have been waiting for you here. I have not left this tree." 

In fact the young man, who was not young anymore, looked at the tree and was even more surprised. Because in his dreams, in his visions, he always saw that tree and there was always a feeling that he would find his master sitting under this tree. Last time he had not seen the tree at all. The tree was there, his master was there, EVERYTHING was ready - but HE was not ready."