The man without care

Once a king on a hunt came to a clearing in a forest where he was enchanted by the peace that reigned there. In a little hut there dwelt an old man, who did not seem to have a care in the world. Then and there the king decided to return to the forest to learn from the hermit how to find happiness for himself.

Within a few days, the king indeed returned to the forest and lived there as a pupil to the old hermit. However, the king soon discovered that it was not as easy as he had imagined; he found that the old man did not let him sit idly nor did he teach him anything at all. All the day long he had something to do in the hermitage.

After some days, the king found it hard to stay in the forest. He then spoke to the hermit, "Please teach me how to be free and happy."

The hermit said, "Wait, you are still not fit to be taught."

And so it went on for some time.

Every time the king spoke to the hermit, he was told to wait.

One day the king lost his patience. When he went to the stream to fetch water, he just left the pot on the ground and went away.

The king had taken but a few steps when he heard a voice come from the water pot. It said, "Oh, King, are you running away from your task?"

The king was very surprised. He looked back and seeing no one, he walked on again.

But he heard the voice again, "You are bent on going away?"

The king retraced his steps. The voice from the pot said "Where are you going?"

The king made reply: "I am going back to my kingdom."

"Why?" asked the pot.

"I have come to learn from the hermit how I can be without a care in the world but he won't teach me. He told me that I am not yet fit to learn. So I am going back."

Said the pot: "It is very difficult to learn anything at all. You may suffer your whole life and yet you may not learn anything. It may even cost your life. I have suffered much myself, yet I have remained ignorant."

"How was it?" asked the king.

"Well, it is a long story," said the pot, "I was living in a forest by myself. One day a man came with a spade and dug me out and took me with him to his home. There he poured water over me, trampled upon me and kneaded me into a dough. How much I suffered then!

" The man then took me to a shed where lay a potter's wheel. He made me into a ball and put me on the wheel until felt giddy. When I came out of the potter's wheel, I thought that my suffering was over. But the man beat me all over with a wooden mallet and put me inside a burning inferno. All of this required great fortitude.

"The next thing the man did was to take me to a shop and leave me there among many other pots just like myself. The other pots must have suffered just like me and I got some solace from the thought that I was not alone. I was full of pity for the other pots.

"In the potter's shop people often stopped and thumped me to see if there was a crack in me. I was surprised that an intelligent creature like man should be indifferent to the suffering of others. I began to hate all men. One day a man came, beat me a couple of times, paid for me and brought me along with him. Then, he gave me to the hermit, and from then on my suffering has come to an end.

"Know, Oh, King, wisdom is difficult to acquire. You have to have patience.