Know Thyself

There was a fragile old man who lived in a miserable hut at the edge of a city. Every morning he went into the streets with a cracked bowl which he held out for alms. He never complained about his situation or his struggle. He took what was given with gratitude. 

One day when he returned from his routine he saw that his hut had been taken over by a young beggar who was eating his rice and had dug up the few coins he had wrapped in a twist of cloth and buried in the floor, in case he might be ill a few days. 

Old man went inside the hut. The young beggar clutched the bowl of rice he had found and demanded, “Who are you?" 

Old man replied, “I am you, in a different body, and I am shivering,” he said. And he took off his robe and held it out to the young beggar. 

The young beggar, instead of looking upon as the old man’s gesture as one of compassion, took him for a fool. He snatched the robe from the old man’s hands and then stripped the old man from head to toe, leaving him standing naked. “Is that all you have?” he asked. 

Old man replied, “When you have everything you have nothing, and when you have nothing left you have everything.”

The young man was confused. 

The old man smiled and said, “Ignorant child, you are trapped in an illusion that you can’t see, feel or touch and you are held fast by invisible chains. Until we realize who we truly are it doesn’t matter what we own. Even if you become richer than the Emperor you will always be held fast by suffering.” 

The young beggar froze. He felt that he understood a little what Old man was saying. 

Old man chanted, "Gate Gate ParaGate ParaSamGate Bodhi Svaha". 

"No treasure can compare to it, no money can buy it, no wealth can occupy it, no pleasure can satisfy it, no eyes can find it, no ears can hear it, no tongue can taste it, no hands can feel it, no mind can imagine it. Oh, dear child what is this treasure?" Old man asked, “Find this, for we are born only to realize it.” 

Young man's illusory world shattered, his face grew bright and he awakened. 

Old man bowed to him, said “Know thyself,” and vanished.