The Emperor of China met Lao Tzu and was so fascinated by him that he appointed him chief judge.
Lao Tzu tried to refuse the appointment, but in vain. Then he agreed and said:
“You will regret this appointment, since my ways of understanding and seeing are completely different from yours.”
The emperor insisted because he was confident in the extraordinary wisdom of this man.
Lao Tzu took the place of the chief judge and the first case he tried was about a man who was caught in the act of stealing from the house of the richest man. In fact, the case was not considered, since the thief was caught in the act and he himself admitted to the crime.
Lao Tzu gave him a famous sentence, so unique and full of understanding that no one had ever passed such a sentence, either before or since. It said that the thief should be sent to prison for six months and the rich man should also be sent to prison for the same period.
The rich man said:
- I can’t believe my ears! My money was stolen and I'm going to jail? The same punishment as a thief! For what?
Lao Tzu said:
- You are the first thief, and he is already the second. But you should have received a more severe punishment. You collected all the valuables of the capital into your bins and made thousands of people hungry, and these are the people who produce! You live off them. You are a great exploiter.
The entire hall remained silent. The rich man said:
“You may be right, but before you send me to prison, I want to see the emperor.”
Having met the emperor, he said:
“You appointed as supreme judge the man who condemned me.” But remember, if I am a thief, then you are a much greater thief. You are exploiting the entire country. Remove this person, otherwise he will declare you a thief too.
The Emperor said:
- I admit, this is my omission, he warned me that his understanding is completely different from ours. We will fix this matter.
Lao Tzu was relieved of his duties and the Emperor said to him:
-You were right, forgive me. We do have different ways of thinking.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru