A philosopher said:
“I have read many books in my life, but I no longer remember most of the information I got from them. So what is the point of reading so many books?” This was exactly the question a student asked his teacher one day.
The teacher remained silent about this; he gave no answer on the first day.
After a few days, the student and the teacher met one day by the river. The teacher showed the student a pot with a hole in it and said, “Go, take the pot, go to the river, and bring me a pot of water.” The pot then fell to the ground in the dirt.
The pupil felt a bit confused; it was an absurd request. It was impossible to fetch water with a pot with holes, but the teacher's request could not be ignored, so he picked up the pot from the ground and ran to the river to fetch water.
He filled the pot with water, but could not get very far; after a few steps, the water had run out of all the holes.
He tried it a few more times, but he failed and became frustrated.
After a few more of these attempts, he got tired of it.
He went back to the teacher and said—“I have failed, I cannot bring water to You with this vessel, it is not possible for me, forgive me.”
The teacher smiled, turned to the student, and said: “No, you have not failed. Look at the pot; it is clean now, it looks brand new. Every time the water runs through the holes, the dirt in the pot is removed.”
The same thing happens to you when you read a book; your brain is like a barrel with holes, and the information in the book is like the water. So when you read a book, you cannot remember everything.
But that is not so important. The ideas, knowledge, emotions, feelings, realizations, and truths you find there will enlighten your mind. Every time you read a book, you undergo a transformation, become a little reborn, and thus a purer person.
That is the most important effect of reading books.”
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