I needed to sing other people’s songs before finding my own

OM MANI PADME HUM

There is a Tibetan tale about a practitioner who took pride in his meditation skills.
When the old man heard of a famous hermit nearby, he just had to take a boat to his island and compare spiritual practise.

ONG NAMO GURU DEV SAT NAM

I’m harder than life, but kinder than love. Secretly I’m a saint.

On his way back across the lake, pondering the poor hermit’s fate, he noticed the boatman looking shocked.

Emptiness is Form, and Form is Emptiness.

Next to them, on top of the water, the hermit was asking for the correct pronunciation again.
He humbly insisted on an answer and calmly walked across the lake, back to his island.