Catching up with wisdom
Worth and money: Ciccone German tells the story of a man who decided to buy everything within his reach as a way of thanking the universe for his wealth. After filling his many homes with clothes, furniture, cars and jewellery, the man decided to buy other things.
He bought ethics and morality — at this moment corruption was created.
He bought solidarity and generosity — then indifference was created.
He bought justice and its laws — making impunity arise at the same hour.
He bought love and feelings — and pain and remorse came up.
The world’s most powerful man bought all the material good he wanted to possess and all the values he wanted to dominate. Until one day, already drunk with so much power, he decided to buy himself.
In spite of all his money, he wasn’t able to accomplish his purpose in life. So from that moment on the only good that no person can put a price on was created, one’s own worth.
Always running: Monk Shuan always used to alert his disciples about the importance of studying ancestral philosophy. One of them, known for his will power, wrote down all teachings of Shuan, and spent the rest of the day reflecting on what he had learnt about the old thinkers.
After a year of learning, the disciple got sick, but kept attending classes.
“Even sick, I will keep studying. I am after wisdom and there is no time to lose,” he told the master.
Shuan asked him, “How do you know if wisdom is ahead of you and that it is always necessary to keep running after it? Perhaps it is walking behind you, wanting to reach you, and in some way you are not allowing it.
“Relaxing and allowing thoughts to flow is also a way of attaining wisdom.”
Starting where it should have been started: A reader told me that the following words are written on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop, in a cathedral in England:
“When I was young and my imagination had no limits, I dreamt of changing the world. When I got older and wiser, I found out the world wouldn’t change; so I restricted my ambitions a little and decided to change only my country.
“But the country also seemed immutable to me.
“On a last and desperate trial, I wanted to change my family, but they didn’t have any interest, saying I always kept making the same mistakes.
“On my dying bed, I finally discovered that if I had started by correcting my mistakes by changing myself, my example could change my family. My family’s example would perhaps spread to the neighbourhood and I would have been capable of improving my neighbourhood, my city, the country and, who knows, maybe even change the world.”
Translated by Michelle Artimez