U n King's only son was a brave young prince, clever and intelligent. To complete his apprenticeship of life, he sent him to a wise old man.
- Enlighten me on the Path of Life , asked the Prince.
- My words will vanish like the traces of your footsteps in the sand, "replied the Sage . However I am willing to give you some pointers. On your way, you'll find three doors. Read the precepts given on each of them. An irresistible urge you push them forward. Do not try to turn him away because you would be condemned to relive what ever you would have fled. I can not tell you more. You have to experience it all in your heart and your flesh. Go now. Follow this road straight ahead.
Old Sage disappeared and the prince embarked on the Path of Life.
He soon found himself facing a large door on which was written:
"CHANGE THE WORLD"
- was indeed my intention, thought the Prince, because if I like some things in this world, others do not agree with me.
And he began his first fight. His ideal, his enthusiasm and his strength led him to confront the world, to undertake, to conquer, to shape reality according to his desire. He found pleasure and exhilaration of conquering, but not calm the heart. He managed to change some things but many others resisted him. Many years passed.
One day he met the Old Wise Man who asked him
- What did you learned on the way?
- I learned replied the Prince, to discern what is in my power and what escapes me, which depends on me and what does not.
- Good, said the Old Man. Use your forces to act on what is in your power. Forget what escapes your grasp.
And he disappeared.
Soon after, the Prince found himself face to a second door. It read:
"CHANGE THE OTHER"
- was indeed my intention, he thought. The others are a source of pleasure, joy and satisfaction but also with pain, bitterness and frustration.
And he rebelled against anything that could disturb or displease him from his fellows. He sought to change their character and root out their faults. This was his second fight. Many years passed.
One day while meditating on the usefulness of its attempts change others, he crossed the Wise Old Man who asked
- What did you learn on the way?
- I learned replied the Prince, that others do not cause or source of my joys and my sorrows, my pleasures and my disappointments. They are just the developer or the occasion. It is rooted in me that all these things.
- You're right, said Wise. By what they awaken in you, others you reveal yourself. Be thankful those that stir in you joy and pleasure. But be it also to those who are born in you pain or frustration, because through them the Life teaches you what you have left to learn and the way that you should still go.
And the Old Man disappeared.
Soon after, the Prince arrived at a door which contained these words:
"CHANGE YOURSELF"
- If I am myself the cause of my problems, this is what I have to do, he said.
And he began his third fight. He sought to influence its character, to fight its imperfections, to remove its defects, to change all that he did not like him, everything that does not fit his ideal.
After many years of this fight where he met some successes but also failures and resistance, the Prince met the sage who asked him
- What have you learned about the way?
- I learned replied the Prince, that there are things that we can improve, others which we resist and we can not break.
- Good, said Wise.
- Yes, continued the Prince, but I getting tired of me fighting against everything, against everybody, against myself. This will not end there forever? When I find the rest? I want to stop fighting, give up, abandon everything, to let go.
- Precisely thy neighbor learning, said the Wise Old Man. But before going further, turn around and contemplate the journey.
And he disappeared.
Looking back, the Prince lives in the distant third door and noticed it was on its back an inscription that said:
"Accept-YOURSELF "
The Prince was astonished not to have seen this entry when he reached the door the first time in the other direction.
- When we fight, we become blind he said.
He saw lying on the ground, scattered around him, all he had rejected and fought him his fault, its shadows, its fears, its limits, all his old demons. He learned to recognize, accept, to love them. He learned to love himself no longer compare, to judge, blame themselves.
He met the Old Wise Man who asked him
- What did you learn on the way?
- I learned, "said Prince, that hate or deny a part of me is never to condemn me to agree with myself. I learned to accept myself totally, unconditionally.
- Good, said the Old Man, this is the first Wisdom. Now you can retake the third door.
barely reached the other side, the Prince saw off the back of the second door and read:
"ACCEPTS THE OTHER"
All around him he saw people he had worked with in his life. Those he loved and those he hated. Those he had supported and those he had fought. But to his surprise, he was now unable to see (*) their imperfections, their defects , which formerly had so embarrassed and cons which he had fought.
He met again the Wise Old Man.
- What did you learn on the way? asked him.
- I learned replied the Prince, that being consistent with myself, I had nothing to blame others, nothing to fear them. I learned to accept and love others fully, unconditionally.
- Good, Old said Wise. This is the second Wisdom. You can pass the second door again.
Arrived on the other hand, the Prince saw the face behind the first door and read:
"ACCEPTS THE WORLD
Curious he said, I have not seen this first entry. He looked around and saw the world he had sought to conquer, to transform, to change. He was struck by the brilliance and beauty of all things. By their Perfection was .(**) Yet the same people as before. Was that the world had changed or look?
He crossed the Old Wise Man who asked
- What did you learn on the way?
- I learned said the Prince, that the world is the mirror of my soul. My soul does not see the world, she sees the world. When it is playful, the world seems gay. When she is overwhelmed, the world seems sad. The world, he is neither sad nor gay. It is there, there, that's all. It was not the world that worried me, but the idea I was doing. I learned to accept without judging, totally, unconditionally.
- This is the third Wisdom said the Old Man. There you are now in agreement with yourself, with others and with the World.
A deep sense of Peace, Serenity, invades the Prince of Wholeness. The Silence of the habit.
- You are ready now to take the final threshold, the Old Sage said. The passage Silence of the Fullness of the Fullness of Silence.
And the Old Man disappeared.
Charles Brulhart © Karine Barki 
