The weather in the unnamed distant yet near country in which the monastery was located was suffering from multiple personalities. One day there was a blizzard, the next day it was warm and sunny and half the snow melted, followed by a day of sleet and high winds and so forth and so on. Scientifically based or not, many monks, student and master alike, held the belief that this was illness inducing weather. Some held the belief because of what they had been told over their lifetime, others held the belief based on the fact that they got sick whenever the weather was like this.

One student, with symptoms of the flu, came to his master for advice. The student was pale and nauseous, slightly hunched over with stomach cramps, and alternated between being chilly and being hot and sweaty.

"Master, what wisdom do you have for me? How can I make my reality whole and healthy again, so that I can return to my studies and participate in my chores?"

The master reflected upon this request for a few moments, standing still and gazing without expression into the face of his student. Finally, he spoke. "My son, do you really know what your reality is?"

"I think that I do, master," was his reply.

"Have you meditated? Meditate and you will find the reality you seek. The illness you now perceive as reality is mere delusion.  Meditate and reality will reveal itself. Through meditation you find your reality and I find mine."

The student paused, thought for a moment and then, though he tried not to, vomited upon his masters feet.

"Okay," said the master, "that's a reality for both of us."