A state of quietness Tea is said to be the way. This is because it is something one learns to appreciate through feeling, not through verbal instructions. If a person maintains a state of quietness, only then will one appreciate the quietness inherent in tea. Lu Yu, The Book of Tea silenceunderstanding
The group of blind mullahs In a natural landscape, each element is part of the greater whole, a sophisticated and intricate web of connections and energy flows. If we attempt to create landscapes using a strictly objective viewpoint, we will produce awkward and dysfunctional designs because all living systems are more than just a sum of their parts. Our culture has tried to define the landscape scientifically, by collecting extensive data about its parts. These methods are much like the group of blind mullahs in the Sufi tale, who try to describe an elephant. Bill Mollison, Introduction to Permaculture The blind men who felt the elephantThe blind men and the elephant holismnature