A craftsman came to Adoniram, troubled by something he thought he was learning in Masonry. He said, "Master, many of the wise old Master Masons I know often say things that make it sound like there is no sense at all in Masonry. They speak of Masonic light as if it has no meaning and the True Word as though it is nothing at all. This is very disturbing because it seems to contradict all that Masonry is about, such as truth, relief, brotherly love, wisdom, strength, and beauty."
Adoniram nodded and asked, "What is it that knows all these principles that we venerate?"
"It must be the mind and heart, master."
Then Adoniram knelt down and drew some symbols and figures in the dust. "Look here and tell me what you see."
The craftsman replied, "I see many of the signs and symbols of our Craft."
"Yes," said Adoniram. "And do you see that there are spaces within them, between them, and all around them, and that all of these spaces blend together into the greater space that is the dust upon which they are written?"
"It is obviously so, master."
"Very well. Now close your eyes and look within. Do you also see that the words and concepts of Masonry are written within your mind and heart?"
The craftsman closed his eyes. "Yes. I hear the words and see the images within."
"Just as with the figures in the dust, the words and images in your mind are surrounded and penetrated by something. What is it?"
"It must be my mind," answered the craftsman.
"That's too easy. Tell me how you experience it."
"It is hard to say. It is darkness. It is silence."
"You call it darkness and silence because it has no image or sound to which you might give a name, right?"
With eyes still closed, the craftsman nodded slowly.
"Do you see how one might speak of this as emptiness or nothingness?"
The craftsman laughed as he opened his eyes. "Ha ha! Yes, I do, master."
"And yet out of this darkness and silence all images and sounds arise, right?"
"Yes, it is obviously so, master."
"So it must be a darkness that has light hidden within it, a silence that has sound hidden within it, an emptiness that is full, and a nothing that is…"
"Everything, master!"
"Yes, so it could be said. Are you still troubled?"
"No, master. I am at peace with the words of the old Master Masons."
"Good. Earlier we spoke of mind and heart. They are good words, but do they suffice for naming what you have found?"
"No, master. No words suffice. How can I name what has no form or image yet must be real? How can I even say I know what it really is?"
"Brother, you have not yet received the Sublime Degree, yet you have entered the unfinished Sanctum Sanctorum and seen the blank trestleboard of our Grand Master Hiram Abif. I admonish you to visit it often. You must also know that though you would speak the words and show the images, you can never communicate this to anyone except those who are duly and truly prepared."
The craftsman only smiled and nodded.