The Zen Master Foyan (12th century China) wrote:

“Buddhism is an easily understood, energy-saving teaching; people strain themselves. Seeing them helpless, the ancients told people to try meditating quietly for a moment. These are good words, but later people did not understand the meaning of the ancients; they went off and sat like lumps with knitted brows and closed eyes, suppressing body and mind, waiting for enlightenment. How stupid! How foolish!”

I think you could find lots of interesting parallels between software development and religion. To a first approximation, it's all about old guys giving advice that's misunderstood and channeled into various schemes like consultancies and conferences and churches.