One rich man asked Sengai to write something so that the prosperity of his family would continue from generation to generation. Sengai took a large sheet of paper and wrote:
“The father died, the son died, the grandson died.”
The rich man got angry:
“I asked you to write something for the happiness of my family.” Why are you making such stupid jokes?
“I didn’t mean to joke,” Sengai explained. “If your son dies before you, it will greatly sadden you.” If your grandson dies before your son, it will break your hearts. If in your family, from generation to generation, they die in the order in which I wrote, this will be the natural course of life. I call this true prosperity.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru