A monk, revered by many as an enlightened one, has died. And on the same day, a prostitute who lived directly opposite the monastery died. She was also famous in her own way. The monk and the prostitute were opposites, existing next to each other, and then they died on the same day. The angels of death appeared and carried the monk to heaven; other angels of death came and dragged the prostitute to hell.
But when the first angels reached heaven, they found the gates closed, and the gatekeeper said: “You have got everything mixed up. The monk should be sent to hell, and the prostitute should be brought here to heaven.”
- What are you saying? - the angels were amazed. “This man is a famous ascetic who spent his life in fasting and prayer. Therefore, we did not clarify anything, but directly brought it here. And the prostitute is probably already in hell, because other angels dragged her there. It never occurred to us to ask; it seemed completely obvious.
And the gatekeeper said
- You were confused because you only looked at the appearance. This monk fasted and prayed to rise above others. And to himself he always thought: “I’m wasting my life. How lovely is the prostitute who lives across the street... and is available at any time, as soon as I cross the street.”
But, fearing to ruin his reputation forever, he did not dare to do this. Many people are virtuous only because they are cowards like this monk. He was an ascetic, but his thoughts were always with a prostitute. When she had parties and dances, he listened carefully to the sounds coming from her. He was sitting in front of a Buddha statue, but it was not Buddha that was in front of his eyes. He dreamed of how he would make love with this prostitute.
What about a prostitute? She always repented, knowing that she had wasted her life in vain. And for what? For money and fun. She always looked in the direction where the monastery stood, envying the quiet, righteous life of the monks. She passionately wished that God would give her at least one chance to enter the temple. But I thought to myself: “I am a prostitute, wicked, I should not approach the temple.” That's why she loved to walk around the temple to at least look at it from the street...
The gatekeeper finished his story, then ordered the Angels:
- Take the prostitute to heaven, and throw this monk into hell. The life of a monk was righteous, the life of a prostitute was sinful. But they both wanted something else.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru