Once a student went to a monk and said, “I am devoted to studying the art of meditation. How long will it take me to master it?” The monk casually replied, “Ten years.” The student became impatient. He said, “That is very long. I want to master it sooner than that. I will work very hard. I will practise for double the time every day. How long will I take then?” The monk thought for a moment and said, “Twenty years.” The student was confused. “Shouldn’t I take less time if I work for double the time?” the student queried. The monk smiled and said, “You will take double the time, for you will have double the goals. One goal would be to learn meditation and the other goal to learn it faster. There is no time limit to any form of learning.”
Moral: Learning is the process and not the end-result.
