Daily Meditation: Monday, October 10, 2005

Chinese tale - the sage who became emperor, and his wife

10/10/2005

In ancient China there lived a great sage. His wife never stopped tormenting him with her recriminations: ‘What good is your wisdom? We barely have enough to live on, and my youth is being sapped by household worries. I want beautiful clothes and jewellery, I want to enjoy myself like other women my age.’ Tired of these scenes, the sage finally said to her: ‘All right, if you find a man who you think can make you happier, go off with him, I won’t stop you.’ And eventually she did just that. Then one day the old emperor died. He had no heir, and after they searched the entire country for a worthy successor, they discovered the sage and made him emperor. When his wife learned of it, she came to see him and said: ‘I understand now how foolish and thoughtless I was not to have appreciated your qualities. But forgive me, I was young. I want to come back and live with you.’ He listened to her patiently without reproaching her in the least, then turned to a servant and said: ‘Bring me a cup of the most precious liqueur.’ Once the cup was in hand, he emptied it on the ground and said to his wife: ‘If you can recover this liqueur in its original state of purity, I will agree to take you back.’ And his wife cried, knowing it was impossible.