In a Zen monastery there was a competition among disciples over who had maintained the best garden. One disciple was of a very serious nature. He took the competition quite seriously. He always kept his garden neat, clean and well swept. All the grass was of the same height. All the bushes were neatly trimmed. He was sure that he would get the first prize.
On the day of the competition, the master went around all the gardens. Then he came back and ranked the gardens. The disciple’s garden got the lowest ranking. Everyone was shocked. The disciple could not contain himself and asked, ” Master, what is wrong with my garden? Why did you rank me the lowest?”
The master looked at him and asked, ” Where are all the dead leaves? ” A garden maintained in such a way is no longer alive! It is dead.
Parmahamsa Nithyananda says ” Sincerity is giving the task your best without worrying excessively about the result. “
