In the kingdom of Qi there lived a Rich Man from the clan of the Owners, and in the kingdom of Song there lived a Poor Man from the clan of the Responders. A poor man came from Song to Qi to ask for the secret of wealth. The rich man said:
“I have mastered the art of kidnapping.” Since he started stealing, in the first year he managed to feed himself, in the second year he achieved prosperity, in the third year he achieved complete abundance. And since then I have been distributing favors in the villages of the region.
The poor man was very happy, but he only understood the word “kidnapping” and not the method of theft. And then he began to climb over the fence, break open the gate and drag out everything that came to hand, that caught his eye. Soon, having condemned him to slavery for theft, they confiscated the property that he had before.
Thinking that the Rich Man had deceived him, the Poor Man went to reproach him.
- How did you rob? - asked the Rich Man from the Possessing family.
And the Poor Man from the family of Responders told how it happened.
- Oh! - exclaimed the rich man. - How wrong you were in your method of stealing! But now I will tell you about it.
I learned that the sky gives seasons, and the earth gives growth. And I began to rob the weather from the sky, and growth from the earth; moisture from the rain clouds, from the depths of the mountains and plains, to sow seeds for yourself, to grow grain for yourself, to build a fence for yourself and to build yourself a house. I took wild animals and birds from the land, and stole fish and turtles from the water. Did this belong to me? All this was stolen by me. After all, seeds and grains, earth and trees, animals and birds, fish and turtles are generated by nature. I robbed nature and remained unharmed. But is nature bestowed with gold and jade, pearls and jewelry, bread and silk, property and goods? They are collected by man! How can you reproach those who condemned you if you stole?
Deciding in confusion that the Rich Man had deceived him again, the Poor Man went to the Preborn from the Eastern Suburbs and asked him for advice. The Preborn One from the Eastern Suburbs answered him:
“Isn’t your body itself already stolen?” After all, in order to create your life and body, they robbed the combination of the forces of heat and cold, especially not without stealing external things! Heaven, earth and the darkness of things are truly inseparable from each other. Anyone who thinks he owns them is mistaken. Robbery for the family of the Owners is a common path, which is why the Rich Man remained unharmed; your robbery is a personal desire, so you brought punishment upon yourself. The seizure of the general and the particular is the same robbery as the loss of the general and the particular. The general in the general and the particular in the particular—this is the property of the nature of Heaven and Earth. Will someone who knows the properties of nature consider someone a thief or someone not a thief?!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru