A zen master and his disciple were on their way to a distant monastery. They had to cross a dense forest to get there. The guard at the gate had told them that they must keep walking north else they will lose their way and be lost forever. So they headed north. After a while the zen master suddenly turned due east. The disciple began to point out the error but when he saw his master walking purposefully ahead he simply followed. An hour later the master again turned due north and then due west and eventually due north again to exit the forest.
The disciple never knew that just before turning east the zen master had spotted the pug marks of a ferocious tiger and he knew him to be ahead somewhere. Had they kept walking straight they would have been, no doubt, caught and eaten alive.
The disciple didn't have to know this because he knew something far more important. He knew that to trust someone means one has to trust them just that little longer even when you know they are making a mistake.
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