Once there was a Zen master who had a dog. The dog loved to play in the evening with his master. Each night, they would play a game. Master would throw a stick and the dog would run to fetch it but would run back with a ball. He would drop it at the master’s feet and sit there wiggling his tail waiting for next game.
There were many students who used to learn from master but one student used to question many contradictions in the Buddhist doctrine. So one particular evening, when master was out with his dog to play, he invited this students to join him. The Master said, “You must understand that words which are used to teach you are just guideposts. So, never let words or symbols get in the way of truth.” “Let me show you..”, master continued.
With this the master called his dog then pointed his finger toward moon and said, “Fetch me the moon..” “Tell me, where is my dog looking?” Master asked his student. “He is looking at your finger” the student answered. Master looked all the students in eye and said, “Exactly..!! Don’t be like my dog. Don’t confuse the pointing finger with the thing that it is being pointed at. You need to understand that all Buddhist words are only guideposts and every person must fight their way through other people’s words to find their own truth.”
Moral: It’s a teacher’s job not to set his vision on his students, but to have goals of the vision and let everyone find their own vision.