Through the story of "Imaginary Plum to Quench Thirst" and many other penetrating and meaningful stories in the book "Three Kingdoms", Supreme Master Ching Hai vividly explains for us the wisdom of spiritual practice.

Many so-called spiritual practitioners are attached to arguing about Zen and talking about the Tao, and some even like to exercise magic power. The Supreme Master points out that, mostly when we pass by a Buddha or a great Bodhisattva, we won't know who he is, nor can we smell the air of Buddha or of Zen from him at all. If we still could smell the air of Zen from him, it means that he still has the disease of Zen or has what we call "the smell of Zen".

True spiritual practitioners practice in silence, they never show off nor do they smell the Zen. They look like ordinary people at first glance, but they have profound wisdom inside. Therefore, spiritual practitioners cannot be measured or detected.