Repartee of the Wise

A new student approached the Zen master and asked how he should prepare himself for his training. “Think of me as a bell,” the master explained. “Give me a soft tap, and you will get a tiny ping. Strike hard, and you will receive a loud, resounding peal.”
_{William Wray, Sayings and Tales of Zen Buddhism}

During Maharaj Charan Singh Ji’s trip to Minneapolis, before the Master faced the television cameras for his brief explanation of the Sant Mat philosophy, he was told by the interviewer how the tense and agitated atmosphere that normally prevailed in the studios had been dramatically transformed by his presence into one of peace and tranquillity, and was asked the reason for this extraordinary change. With his characteristic smile, he replied simply, “If one’s mind is at peace, it also radiates peace.”
_{Heaven on Earth}

A man on a camel passing the sage Zardalu shouted at the sight of such a humble one who was believed by his followers to be a great teacher: “If the teaching is designed to uplift man, why is it that so many men can be found who are cast down?”

Zardalu answered without raising his head: “If it were not for the teaching, man would not, I agree, be cast down. He would be extinct.”
_{Idries Shah, Thinkers of the East}