Takuan had many followers from Iemitsu, the third shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, to ordinary peasants. Among them was an old man whose name no one remembered. He was a little eccentric. One day this old man sent his servant to Takuan to invite the master to a meal after the ceremony.
“No matter how modest my food is, I want Osho to taste boiled rice with barley in my house,” the old man said to the servant.
Osyo, who loved this dish, readily accepted the invitation and went to visit the old man. There he was offered a large plate full of rice and barley porridge. The old man didn’t have any seasonings for his porridge. There wasn't even the pickled takuan-zuke radish on the table, prepared according to Osho's recipe.
Usually unpretentious, Takuan this time thought: “Will the old man really not serve any salting with the rice?” - but there was no time to ask questions, since his mouth was occupied with delicious porridge. The old man sat calmly in front of the guest, waiting for the end of the meal. When Ose's belly was full, he got up to leave, but the old man stopped him and asked:
- Osho-san, I treated you to boiled rice, and you leave without even thanking me. Is this what monks do?
— You invited me to taste boiled rice with barley. “You didn’t invite me to say thank you,” Osho answered without hesitation and quickly left the house.
This answer hurt the old man, and he decided to take it out on Osyo someday. One day the old man wondered how he could catch Osyo at his word. At that very moment Ose ran into his house and exclaimed:
— It’s pouring like buckets outside! Please lend me an umbrella and geta (wooden shoes).
The old man was glad to have the opportunity to get back at Osyo and very politely offered him what he asked for. The old man was sure that Osho would thank him this time, but this did not happen again. Osyo quickly left the house and soon sent a young monk to return the things he had taken. The monk was like his master - he did not thank the old man, but only left his things and went home.
A few days later, Osho and the old man met for tea. The old man decided that it was time to talk about everything, and began from afar:
“You were unlucky that day when the rain caught you outside, weren’t you?”
- Yes, no luck. I hope the young monk returned your umbrella and geta!
- Of course, I returned it. “That was very kind of you,” said the old man, noticing that he himself was involuntarily thanking Ose. How could he make such a mistake?
Osho sat opposite the old man and smiled. The old man could hold back no longer and blurted out:
- Osho-san, you are poorly brought up. You could at least thank me!
“If I say thank you, then I will pay off my debt to you,” Takuan said in a calm voice. “I always silently thank you and never forget your kindness.” If a person expects gratitude for his kindness, this is not real kindness. You should not expect to witness the joy of others and hear their praise. Good deeds in themselves should give you pleasure, and at the same time, when you give something to others or help them, you should not expect a reward. This is true kindness. You are deceiving yourself if you do something good out of vanity or self-righteousness. In doing so, you allow delusion to enter into you. People are prone to selfishness. When doing a favor for others, they seek to receive something in return. Anyone who does not see the difference between kindness and interest understands nothing about people. If you do good based only on your own self-interest, you are making a mistake. If you try to help others with every action, you will never be disappointed.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru