Life is imperfect. That's why life IS. Only death is perfect...

A young man wished to find the Perfect Master. He travel led to India and visited a famous yogi. But when the young man tried to open a dialogue, the yogi would not speak. So he traveled on.

This was not his idea of a perfect master. A master is one who teaches. Now this man simply sits there, silent, like a stupid man. Maybe he is silent, but there is no message. He is not the messiah -- how can one be a messiah without a message?

Then he went to Japan and entered a monastery, but the venerable master seemed to him overly harsh and ruthless. The master used to beat people, throw them out of the windows, jump upon them even while they were asleep. Now, this was not his cup of tea.

Arriving in Iran, he met a Sufi who gave him meaningless answers to his very serious questions. He would ask about the East and the Sufi would talk about the West. He would ask about the earth and the Sufi would talk about the sky. Now this was ridiculous, this man was mad.

Finally the young man climbed the high mountains of Tibet and, in an ancient Lamasery on a windswept cliff, he was permitted an audience with the head Lama, a famous master of the region. To the young man, the Lama was not sufficiently austere, for he was surrounded by silks, gold and other riches. Yet the Lama's words seemed wise, and the young man believed that this was the closest he would come to finding the Perfect Master. So he begged permission to become a disciple of the Lama. The Lama replied 'No.'

When the young man asked why, the Lama said 'Because I will only accept the Perfect Disciple.'

All kinds of perfectionism create neurosis. Be a perfectionist and you will end up in a mad asylum.

Drop all that nonsense, don't ask for impossible. Be human. Nothing is perfect in the world, not even God. Because if something is perfect it is dead.

All growth is possible because something always remains to be done. One goes on learning, one goes on growing. Yes, let me say to you: Even after enlightenment one goes on growing. From perfection to perfection one goes on growing. One is never absolutely perfect, because absolute perfection means death.

Life is imperfect. That's why life IS. Only death is perfect.

Drop all kinds of perfectionistic attitudes and ideals. My approach is that of being total -- not being perfect but being total. Be total.

And, you will be surprised to know, if you can key total in anything you become perfectly imperfect. You are happy with your imperfection, you are in love with it, there is no desire to drop it -- then it has a very different flavor to it, the flavor of growth.