There was a young man whose dream was to become an artist since he was young. He left his hometown and went to a famous artist, begging him to teach him how to paint and expressing how he was willing to do any chores around the house. Seeing his passion, the famous artist let him stay. The young man started building skills by copying the famous artist’s art pieces. As his drawings started looking like his teacher’s, he became more and more confident.
One day, the young man completed a drawing of two tigers that looked so similar to his teacher’s. He became curious and wanted to see if his teacher would know which one was his. So, he gave his own drawing back to the teacher instead of the original drawing of his. Then, the teacher noticed it right away and became furious. The young man, who had only seen the gentle side of his teacher, realized that he had made a great mistake, and asked for forgiveness desperately. When the teacher calmed down enough, the young man asked him carefully,
“They both look the same to me. How did you tell the difference?”
“Look at the pupils of the mother tiger. Can’t you see the reflection of the cub? It’s easy to copy the outer appearance, but it’s hard to reach the essence. You need to have eyes that understand even what is hidden inside.”