Does The Master Not Suffer With Bad Disciples – Spiritual Story by Paulo Coelho

A disciple asked Firoz:

The mere presence of a master causes all sorts of curious people to gather round, to discover something beneficial. Can't this be a hindrance and negative? Can't this divert the master from his path, or cause him to suffer because he could not teach that which he wished?

Firoz, the Sufi master, replied:

The sight of an avocado tree laden with fruit whets the appetite of all those who pass by. If someone wishes to satisfy his hunger beyond his needs, he will eat more avocados than necessary, and will be sick. However, this causes no indigestion to the man who owns the avocado tree.

It is the same with our Search. The path must be open to all; but it is for God to set the limits of each individual.

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian author who has sold more than 100 million books, which include 14 short story collections and the novel “The Alchemist.” He has been a fan of the Internet since the early 1990s. He spends at least three hours a day online, writing e-mails back and forth with his readers and posting photos on Flickr, MySpace and a blog.

Coelho's online activities also include promoting pirated copies of his own books. Since 2005 he's been directing his readers to an online site where they can download his books, in languages from German to Japanese, for free. “I always thought that when, at the beginning of your career, you strive to be read, you can't change your mind later and become greedy about it.”