In the past, farmers in China's provincial regions often gathered together to hold celebrations during the Chinese New Year holiday or other times when there was little work to do on the farms. These celebrations included all kinds of acrobatic and entertaining performances. On one Chinese New Year's Day, a group of people assembled before the office of the county magistrate to wish the magistrate and other officials a happy new year. Among the group of people stood a father and a son dressed in loose, baggy clothes.

After the villagers had bowed and greeted the magistrate and the other officials, the father courteously said to the magistrate, "My son and I are itinerant magicians. We'd be honored to put on any magic show you'd like to see."

The magistrate was pleased that so many people had gathered in front of his office, so he smiled and asked the father, "What magic tricks can you do? What are you best at?"

"I can change the order of the four seasons," the father answered. "I can conjure up anything."

After a short deliberation, the magistrate said, "I'd like to see you produce a peach right in front of me."

It was winter and the land was covered with snow--obviously not the season for peaches. On hearing the magistrate's request, the father frowned. He said to his son, "Son, since the magistrate wants a peach, we must try our best to get one. But where on earth can we find a peach at this time of year?"

"It's simply impossible to find a peach on earth in the wintertime," the son replied. “The only place where we might get one is in heaven."

"Well then, we must manage to get one for the magistrate even if it means we have to go to heaven."

The son was surprised by his father's reply. "But heaven is so high. How can we get there?"

"There must be some way," said the father. He fetched a rope out of his box and with a great heave threw it up into the air. The rope kept extending up to the sky as if it were alive.

Everyone was fascinated. The father turned to his son. "I should be the one to go up to heaven, but I'm old and not as nimble as I used to be. Will you go there in my place?"

"But it's so high, and the rope is so thin," exclaimed the son fearfully. "What if I fall down?"

The father said, "My son, there is no one who loves you as much as I do, but our honor is more important than our lives. We can't lie to the magistrate. Go on, be a brave boy and climb up." Seeing that no further argument would reverse the situation, the son jumped onto the rope and began climbing up toward the sky. Gradually he disappeared from sight.

When everyone was staring into the sky, the rope suddenly broke and part of it dropped to the ground. Everyone shouted in horror. The father burst into tears, saying, "The rope is broken, and my son can't come back down to earth." Just then, a peach plummeted from the sky. The father caught the peach and presented it to the magistrate.

Everyone was staring at the peach in disbelief when suddenly a head dropped into the crowd of people. The father wailed, "This is my son's head. The gods must have cut it off because he stole the peach from them." A moment later, two hands and two legs fell from the sky. Everyone was frightened, and no one knew what to do.

The father collected the head, hands, and legs and put them into his box. Then he covered the box with his coat. Everyone held their breath, wondering what the magician was doing. The father smiled. Patting the box, he said, "Get out, son. Our show is over and everyone has enjoyed it."

The box opened, and his son stood up in one piece.

We often can't believe our eyes when we see conjurers performing magic tricks. But what they actually depend upon is mere sleight of hand. Nothing is real if we see through their tricks.

Isn't life like magic? The Diamond Sutra says reality is like a dream, a bubble, a flash of lightning, a dewdrop. Nothing exists forever. The Buddha said, "There is no self in this world." Eye, ear, nose, tongue--which part am I? What am I?

The "I" who sat here speaking to you yesterday is not the same "I" who sits here today. Even what I am at this very moment is not what I was a moment ago. Since nothing is permanent, what is there to become attached to?

We must let go of all our attachments and stop splitting things between ourselves and others. Only in this way can we play our roles well and stay out of disputes.