PureInsight | June 10, 2007
[PureInsight.org] Zhao Weize
was an honest person from the time of the Five Dynasties (907 - 960
AD). During the period of Ganyou, he rented a house in Kaifeng City.
After he had lived there for over a year, an elder knocked on the door.
Zhao Weize asked him to come in. The elder told him: "I was once a
guard of this house. During the Khitan invasion, my master and I dug up
the ground to bury several jars of gold and silver in the middle of the
night. After the war was over, my master passed away and no one knew
about this. I come today to tell you where the burying ground is. I
just hope you will give me a small part of it so I can make a living."
Weize was pretty amazed to hear what had happened. After he thought
about it, he told the elder: "Very good. How can I just get this
treasure without more formality? Let me select a favorable day and
we'll get it." After the elder was gone, Weize told his family: "All my
life, I have not let property pollute my mind. Isn't this intended to
dishonor me? We can no longer live here." The whole family moved out of
the house the following day.
When our forefathers saw injustice, they felt their eyes were polluted.
When they heard injustice, their ears were polluted. There is a
Buddhist story: When Sakyamuni saw a lost bag on the ground, he said:
"A poisonous snake. A poisonous snake." Then he just walked by
it. When a peasant heard what Sakyamuni said, he went to take a look
and found it wasn't a snake, but a bag full of silver and gold. He took
the bag home happily. But the local authorities found out about it
unexpectedly and ordered the peasant to hand over the bag. The
authorities also suspected the peasant hadn't handed over everything
and so sternly demanded it all. Towards the end, the peasant went
bankrupt.
From the History of the Five Dynasties
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2007/6/5/44222.html
