"He used to use – without knowing Hyakujo – the same method, and the people who came to him were very different than the people who came to Hyakujo.

"Gurdjieff was working in the West. And intellectuals would come and Gurdjieff would ask them to go and dig a ditch in the field, but they would say, 'We have come here to learn something, not to dig a ditch.'

"Gurdjieff was very hard. He would say, 'First do what I say if you want to hear the answer.'

"In one particular case, Bennett reached Gurdjieff. Highly educated, cultivated, he had come to ask about God and the meaning of life – and the answer was the same. Gurdjieff said, 'Leave these things for the moment. Just go and dig the ditch in the field.'

"Bennett hesitated for a moment, but then thought, 'I have come from so far, let us see what happens. What am I going to lose?' He started digging the ditch; Gurdjieff came with his cigar, watched him digging, told him that, 'Before sunset this certain area has to be prepared.'

"The sunset came, Bennett was utterly tired – an intellectual who has never worked, and particularly such work. And seeing the sun setting there was great relief: 'Now, at least Gurdjieff will start having the dialogue I have come for.'

"Gurdjieff was walking just by the side, watching all the time.

"Then Bennett said, 'The ditch is ready.'

"Gurdjieff said, 'Now fill up the ditch completely. Bring it back to the state that it was. Throw all the mud back in its place.'

"Bennett was so tired, but he was also a man of integrity. He said, 'Let us see what happens.'

"Without food, without rest, without even a coffee break he filled the ditch again. It was almost the middle of the night and Gurdjieff was standing the whole day just watching and smoking his cigar. The moon was full, at the highest peak of the night. It was a beautiful silence.

"And Bennett remembers: 'I was so tired. I don't know from where – a tremendous silence descended over me.'

"In his autobiography he says, 'I was simply astonished.'

"Gurdjieff laughed and said, 'Have you heard? Now go and rest.'

"But what was said? Nothing was said."