Learning How To Be Silent

Four pupils of Zen promised to observe seven days of silent meditation. On the first day all was quiet, but as night came the oil lamps were growing dim. One of the pupils could not keep himself from exclaiming to a servant: "Fix those lamps." The second pupil was surprised to hear the first one talk. "We are not supposed to say a word," he remarked. "You two are stupid. Why did you talk?" asked the third. "I am the only one who has not talked," concluded the fourth pupil.