The great mystic Nagarjuna was traveling. The emperor was a devotee of Nagarjuna and gave him a golden begging bowl. She was very expensive, and Nagarjuna was a half-naked wanderer. A thief passed by him, he could not believe his eyes: such a precious thing was in the possession of such a poor man! And the thief followed him. Nagarjuna stopped for the night in a dilapidated monastery. The thief was delighted at such luck and thought: “At night, when he falls asleep, I will come up and take the cup without any difficulty.” And he hid behind the wall. Nagarjuna sensed and understood what this man wanted to do. He came out and said:
“You’d better take this cup right away so I can sleep peacefully.” I wouldn't want to make you a thief, so I thought about it and decided to give it to you. You're going to take it anyway, so why not give it to you? Take a gift!
The thief did not expect such a turn of events. He came and bowed down at Nagarjuna's feet. He said:
“Now you can leave, because I have nothing else.” Be happy and leave me alone.
But the thief said:
- Wait, holy man. I, too, would like to become as unattached to things. You made me feel so pathetic. Is there a path by which I can reach the pinnacle of awareness?
Nagarjuna replied:
- Yes, there is such a way!
The thief said:
“Don’t tell me that first I have to stop stealing.” Because wherever I went, and I went to many saints and mystics, they all said, “First stop stealing.” I tried, but I can't fulfill this condition.
Nagarjuna said:
“Apparently you haven’t met a real mystic yet.” You must have met former thieves. Otherwise why should anyone worry about you being a thief? Be a thief! It's none of my business. I don't care. Only one thing is required of you: go and do what you do, but do it consciously. Don't do anything mechanically. Be aware of what you are doing.
The thief said:
- I agree to this. I will try.
Nagarjuna replied:
“I will wait for you here, in this monastery, for fifteen days.” You can come and tell me everything.
On the tenth day the thief came and said:
- You are cunning! I tried it and got lucky. I broke into one house. There were riches there. Remembering my promise, I remained aware. Such calm and indifference descended on me that I did not want to steal, I could not take things with me.
Nagarjuna said:
- This is what you should have understood. Now everything depends on your choice. You can choose not to accept the realization and remain a thief, or you can accept the realization and become a different person. Keep stealing if you can do it with awareness. Then I'm calm for you.
The thief said:
- But this is impossible. I tried it. If I am aware, I cannot steal. “And he added: “Actually, you caught me.” I will no longer be able to part with this awareness. I felt the taste of it.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru