The wise teacher seemed to have all the right answers. However, while she often gave straight teachings, on occasion, her words would be cryptic.
Some of her astute students caught on to this. They discovered that when their master knew, she would speak the answer plainly. And when she didn’t know, their master would present a parable for her students that served to disguise her ignorance.
One day, these students confronted her, “Why have you given us riddles when you have no enlightened truth.”
The master gave a pleasant smile, “I have been waiting for you to catch on. Are my students not allured by the mystery of the riddles, to search for the deeper meaning? By their own work, my students provide the right principle themselves.”
Then they asked if she thought it was dishonest of her to behave as though she was all-knowing. The master challenged them with this, “Who would care to walk along the path of wisdom if there did not appear to be a grand destination?”
The students were deeply satisfied by this answer and by the prospect that their achievement of mastery was closer than they had thought.
The master laid her hands on their shoulders and said softly, “In this life, you will do greater things than even I.”