The season was drawing to an end, and I was soon to make my journey back to the city. It was a time of mixed emotions for me. As much as I wanted to return home to my friends and family, I wanted to stay and learn more from the Prophet.

The day before I was due to leave, I wandered down to the beach to search for Him, and found Him there among the rock pools, peering intently into their depths. He looked up as I approached.

'I have decided' I said 'to remain here and to learn from you all I can.'

He nodded.

'I will need to tell my family and friends that I'm not coming straight back. How long do you think it will take me to learn?'

He looked back down into the pool, and I saw Him watching my reflection in the water. After a while He spoke 'It will take you ten years.'

'Ten years!' I exclaimed 'What if I work very hard? If I meditate for 14 hours a day? If I open my mind as wide as it can go, how long will it take then?'

'Then' He said 'It will take you 20 years'

'You are being unfair' I complained. 'I don't understand why you think it will take so long.'

He continued to look into the depths of the pool, and then without looking up asked me 'Why do you want to learn? What is it that you want to learn?'

'I want to learn enlightenment.' I replied 'I want to become one with the universe.'

At that He leapt cat like from His perch by the rock pool, and catching me around the throat in a vice like grip, swung me off my feet and head first into the rock pool. I struggled in vain, thrashing my legs and flailing my arms until I had exhausted all my breath, and as I felt my muscles slacken, and my starved brain slowly began turning the lights out, He pulled me panting from the pool.

I could not speak at first, and he stood over me with a look of concern.
'How desperately did you want air?'

'What?!' I gasped

'Tell me how it felt. How every part of your body was crying out for air. How air was all you wanted, more than anything in the world.'

Then He sat back down next to the pool and continued watching it's depths. As I turned to leave, confused, hurt, betrayed, He said ..

'When you desire enlightenment as much as your body desired air. Then I will teach you.'

And I understood then that I could not rush to learn, but that I must live the teachings to learn understanding.