Asanga was a great practitioner who had a sincere wish to receive teachings on the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, in which he would find all the instructions on the stages of the path to enlightenment. He tried to find a Teacher who would teach him the hidden meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, this is, the stages of the vast path, but he could not find such a Teacher anywhere. Finally Asanga decided he needed to attain a direct vision of Maitreya, who had received these teachings directly from Buddha Shakyamuni. To accomplish this aim Asanga engaged in retreat in a remote mountain cave. For Three years he concentrated on the visualization, meditation and recitation of the mantra of Buddha Maitreya, but his karmic obstructions prevented him from seeing Maitreya and he became discouraged and stopped his retreat. As he was returning to his home he met a man working very hard at cutting a block of iron with a peacock feather. Asanga asked the man, ‘How can you cut this iron with a peacock feather?" The main replied, ‘With effort we can accomplish anything. Look, I have already made some progress’, and he showed Asanga a mark on the block. Asanga then asked, ‘What are you going to do when your have cut it?’ and the man replied, ‘Nothing. Just leave it here.’ Asanga thought ‘If this man can work so very hard for something that has no meaning, surely I can work continually in my retreat for something that will bring great meaning for myself and countless living beings?’ With this thought, he returned to his retreat.
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