I have told you the story about Lao Tzu. He was made the chief justice by a Chinese emperor who thought that he was the most wise and the most respected human being in the whole empire. He could not find a better chief justice.
Lao Tzu told him, ”It won’t last long. If you say so, I will accept the post. But you don’t know me, you have just heard about me.”
But the emperor was stubborn as emperors are supposed to be. He said, ”No. You have to accept this post.”
The first case that came before Lao Tzu was about a great thief who had stolen a lot of money and armaments from the richest man of the empire.
The man was so rich that he was lending money to the emperor. He was far richer than the emperor himself. And naturally, he had never expected what happened. The man – the thief – was caught red-handed. So there was no question that he should not be punished. Lao Tzu heard the whole thing, both sides, and gave the judgment that, ”The thief and the rich man, both, should be sent to jail for six months.”
The rich man could not believe his ears. He said, ”What is going on, what kind of justice is this? I have been robbed and you are sending me to jail?”
Lao Tzu said, ”According to me, you are the real criminal. He is just your shadow. You have accumulated the whole wealth of the country, you have left everybody poor, beggars. You have exploited so much that now it is a natural consequence: people will steal from you. I cannot send your shadow to jail without sending you also. The shadow alone cannot go to jail. It will go only with you.”
The rich man said, ”Then I want to have an audience with the emperor before you implement your judgment.”
And he told the emperor what kind of madman he had chosen: ”Just try to understand. If today he is sending me to jail, tomorrow you will be my companion in jail, because we belong to the same profession. I exploit people, you exploit people. Our whole profession is to be parasites. And you have put that crazy guy who ... Never in history has such a judgment happened.”
The emperor also became alerted and thought, ”This is dangerous. Perhaps that man was right when he said, ‘You don’t understand me, and you don’t understand my way of thinking. You are taking an unnecessary risk by appointing me your chief justice.’”
Lao Tzu was relieved immediately.
OSHO
Lao Tzu told him, ”It won’t last long. If you say so, I will accept the post. But you don’t know me, you have just heard about me.”
But the emperor was stubborn as emperors are supposed to be. He said, ”No. You have to accept this post.”
The first case that came before Lao Tzu was about a great thief who had stolen a lot of money and armaments from the richest man of the empire.
The man was so rich that he was lending money to the emperor. He was far richer than the emperor himself. And naturally, he had never expected what happened. The man – the thief – was caught red-handed. So there was no question that he should not be punished. Lao Tzu heard the whole thing, both sides, and gave the judgment that, ”The thief and the rich man, both, should be sent to jail for six months.”
The rich man could not believe his ears. He said, ”What is going on, what kind of justice is this? I have been robbed and you are sending me to jail?”
Lao Tzu said, ”According to me, you are the real criminal. He is just your shadow. You have accumulated the whole wealth of the country, you have left everybody poor, beggars. You have exploited so much that now it is a natural consequence: people will steal from you. I cannot send your shadow to jail without sending you also. The shadow alone cannot go to jail. It will go only with you.”
The rich man said, ”Then I want to have an audience with the emperor before you implement your judgment.”
And he told the emperor what kind of madman he had chosen: ”Just try to understand. If today he is sending me to jail, tomorrow you will be my companion in jail, because we belong to the same profession. I exploit people, you exploit people. Our whole profession is to be parasites. And you have put that crazy guy who ... Never in history has such a judgment happened.”
The emperor also became alerted and thought, ”This is dangerous. Perhaps that man was right when he said, ‘You don’t understand me, and you don’t understand my way of thinking. You are taking an unnecessary risk by appointing me your chief justice.’”
Lao Tzu was relieved immediately.
OSHO
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