A teacher brought his students to a field overgrown with weeds to teach them one final lesson before ending the semester. Pointing to the field, the teacher asked,
“How can you get rid of the weeds?”
Since it was the last lesson, the students were expecting to be taught something profound. However, it seemed like a trivial question, so they answered carelessly,
“We can plow the field with shovels or picks.”
“It would be better to burn them all by fire.”
“We can just uproot them.”
Nodding his head, the teacher said to the students,
“Weeds like greed, selfishness, and hatred may grow in people’s hearts. The assignment for the last class is to go back and try to get rid of the weeds in your hearts, using the methods you suggested. And next year, let us meet here again.”
The following semester, the students were stressed because of the weeds that had grown thick in their hearts, and gathered once again. However, the field which used to be covered with weeds had now turned into a field of wheat. There on the field was a sign with the following words written on it:
“A great way to remove weeds is to sow wheat in the same field and take care of it. It is the same with the weeds that grow in our hearts.”