A young monk in a Zen monastery, after many months of study and practice, is sitting in meditation when suddenly there appears before him a miraculous image: the Buddha, enshrined in golden light, hovers in the air and smiles down at him in silent blessing.
Overcome by the beauty of the image, and feeling blessed beyond measure, the student jumps up and runs to his master.
“Master, master! In a vision I have seen the golden Buddha!”
“There, there,” the master replied sympathetically. “Keep meditating. It will go away eventually.”
Robert Mitchell Jr. 