Lai-Xeng and the Prostitute
One morning as Lai-Xeng was meditating a great sage came to him and asked him "O Lai-Xeng, O wise Sage, what is Truth?"
And Lai-Xeng continued meditating.
Later, shortly before the noon day bell Lai-Xeng was approached by a student of philosophy, who asked "O Lai-Xeng, O wise Sage, how might I, a mere student, become wise?"
And Lai-Xeng continued meditating.
That afternoon, as the sun was sinking down below the horizon Lai-Xeng was approached by a child who plainly asked, "O Lai-Xeng, O wise Sage, what use is wisdom against might?"
And Lai-Xeng continued meditating.
That night, when the moon was high in the sky a prostitute walked in front of Lai-Xeng and he said to her, "You don't seek Truth, yet you found it; you don't seek Wisdom, yet it found you; you didn't gain Wisdom soon enough, and now Might holds you."
The prostitute turned to Lai-Xeng and bowed her head, gathering up her skirts she thanked him and said, "O Lai-Xeng, O wise Sage, would that I had lies to lull me to sleep, would that I was a protected fool, and would that the world was a gentle place, but it could not be any other way," and she left Lai-Xeng feeling wiser than before.
At the end of the rains one year Lai-Xeng sought out the advice of the famous architect Noo-Om’nter. The Emperor’s builder was unsure that a proposed bridge across a wide river would be feasible. Lai-Xeng volunteered to take the problem to the master Noo-Om-ter.
One day, in the dew and grey of the pre-dawn hour, Lai-Xeng sat outside the quarries were Noo-Om’ter meet with young designers. As the young architects gathered with their wax tablets and fabric scrolls Lai-Xeng reviewed his own notes so that he could present Noo-Om’ter with the problem of the bridge clearly. Then just as the sun was rising Noo-Om’ter came walking towards the crowd form the east. The rising sun streaming through his unkempt grey hair; Noo-Om’ter first reminded the crowd that he was Noo-Om’ter and assured them that he had seen their problems before. Noo-Om’ter took the offerings of food and drink brought to him and then listened to two questions from the score of young designers.
For the rest of the morning Noo-Om’ter talked about how he had done thing in the west. With each story he dissmissed the questions of the younger ones as being the results of poor planning, incomplete work or pure ignorance.
“All my designs were based on 10,000 hours of research, that is the Noo-Om-ter way, if you did not do 10,000 hours of research you can not succeed.”
“Noo-Om’ter would never attempt such a design, it is inherently limit, the reasons are obvious to any designer with a drop of intelligence.”
“Noo-Om’ter has seen many such things as you have proposed fail, yet the castles of the ancients still stand, and I learned from those castles.”
At midday Noo-Om’ter left and Lai-Xeng sat with the young builders. Lai-Xeng then asked the young men what they wanted to build. They told him and he asked why. They told him and he asked how. They told him and he asked how else they might build it. Then Lai-Xeng asked the young men how else they build their designs. After they discussed other measures, he asked them what might fail and why. They discussed that for a time, and then they went through the designs counting what they could be sure of and what they couldn’t. At the end of the day Lai-Xeng had learned much and he left the quarries that night.
When he returned the builder asked him what Noo-Om’nter had said. Lai-Xeng told him what Noo-Om’nter had said, and the builder was confused. “But what did he say about the Bridge?” Lai-Xeng replied
“To build our bridge we must judge the weakness in our own plans, not be judged by the purported strength of others.”
Systems (Societal/ Cultural) (General)
One day, a tradesman driving a cart to town came upon a river, and this tradesman spied Lai-Xeng upon the bank of this river, deep in thought. The tradesman had heard of Lai-Xeng's wisdom and fame, and decided he would put a question to the young sage, for this tradesman wished above all to be famous himself. And thus the tradesman approached Lai-Xeng, and asked him plainly:
"O Lai-Xeng, O motionless Sage, how is it that you are so famous without accomplishing anything? Is it not true that a man's actions alone will win him all the renown he desires?"
And Lai-Xeng rose, and plucked a small stone from the riverbank, and cast it into the lazily flowing river. And both men marked the ripples it caused, and Lai-Xeng said:
"I, Lai-Xeng, have cast the stone that caused these ripples. And this alone is all the renown I desire."
And the tradesman bowed his head, and gathered up his reins, and left Lai-Xeng feeling wiser than before. Go to Comment