A young man said to his father: “The pompous and heart rending sermons of the moralists make no impressions upon me, because I do not find their practice in conformity with their precepts and teachings. They teach me to abandon the world, but they themselves run after it. Why should one teach mankind and forget one?s own self? A scholar who runs after money has lost his own way, how can he show the right path to others? Can the drowsy teach others to keep awake?”

The father replied: “It is not wise to turn your attention away from the advice of men of learning merely on account of some of their weaknesses, accusing them of contradiction in their words and deeds and remaining excluded from the benefits of knowledge. If you shut your eyes, the sun cannot show you the way.”