An elderly teacher was taking a walk with his disciples, through a forest. Suddenly, he stopped and pointed to four plants close at hand. The first was just beginning to peep above the ground. The second had rooted itself pretty well to the earth: the third was a small shrub, while the fourth was a full-sized tree.
The teacher said to his young disciples, “Pull out the first plant. One of them did so eagerly, using his fingers.
“Now pull out the second,” he said. Another disciple obeyed but found the job more difficult.
“Do the same with the third, ” he urged. The third disciple had to use all his strength to uproot it. It was difficult and took more time.
“Now, try your hand to uproot the fourth,” said the teacher. All the disciples looked at the sturdy trunk, with all its branches spread out. They could not even shake its branches, let alone the trunk.
“So, my dear sons, this is what happens with our bad habits. When they are young, they can be removed easily but when they are old, they are hard to get rid of, said the teacher.