The Evocative Story Of The Monk And The Merchant

The story of the monk and the merchant begins in a humble village. All the inhabitants of the village lived in harmony despite their scarce resources. The inhabitants were kind to each other and they had a strong sense of community. A monastery was located near the village, and the monks who lived there always took care of their neighbors.

When the monks had a good wheat harvest that year, the  chief monk asked one of his brothers to gather a good amount of it, and take it to the village in a cart. They shared all their food because they believed that only through sharing would they experience the joy of abundance.

The monk was very obedient and attentive, so he carried out his teacher’s order right away. With his own hands he gathered two bundles of wheat and placed them on the cart, one by one. When he was done, he could only think about how happy the villagers would be when he gave them the wheat.

The meeting between the monk and the merchant

The next day the monk got up very early to drive the cart to the village. Although he noticed from the beginning that the cart was quite heavy, he did not think so much about it.

He was busy making sure he brought the largest possible amount of wheat to his neighbors. Therefore, he had tied the bundles as best he could, and fastened the three strongest horses.

The monk started his journey towards the village, which was thirty miles away. The morning was beautiful and the monk was filled with happiness. He imagined the faces of the hungry people who would get the wheat. They had probably not had much food for a long time.

He was thinking about all these things when the horses suddenly became startled. Before he could react, he lost control of the wagon. 

He tried to master the horses, but it was impossible. The cart was suddenly unhooked and it began to roll down the hill. Unfortunately, there was a merchant passing by at the same moment. Fate was about to unite the monk and the merchant forever.

The weight of tragedy

Everything happened so fast. The monk did not know how the cart hit the grocery store. When he saw him on the ground, bleeding and unconscious, he ran for help as fast as he could, but in vain. The grocer died. From that moment on, it was as if the monk and the merchant had become one person.

Shortly after this, some villagers came to help. He gave them the wheat, and then he went back to the monastery. He felt his soul was broken. From that day on, he saw the grocer’s face everywhere he went. When he slept, he dreamed of him. When he woke up, he could not think of anything else. The image of the dead man chased him.

The monk eventually asked his teacher for advice. The teacher told him that he could not continue to live that way and that he had to forgive himself. The monk told him it would be impossible.

He felt terribly guilty about what had happened. Perhaps, if the cart had not been so heavy, he would have been able to control it and thus have avoided hitting the grocery store.

The lesson from the story of the monk and the merchant

The story goes that the monk could not shake his sense of deep remorse for months. The more he thought about it, the more guilty he felt. As a witness to this, the teacher made a decision. He summoned the monk and told him again that he could not continue to live that way.

Next , the teacher advised him to take his own life. The monk was surprised, but he quickly realized that this might be his only way out. Nevertheless, he did not have the courage to do it himself.

The teacher told him not to worry. He would do so by beheading his disciple. The monk, who surrendered to his fate, accepted.

The teacher sharpened his sword and asked the monk to kneel and lay his head on a stone. The monk did as he was told. The teacher lifted the sword over his head and the monk began to shake. He broke out in cold sweat. He was scared. Next, the instructor took the sword up over his neck, but he stopped a few inches above his skin.

The monk was paralyzed with fear. His teacher then asked him,  “During those few moments, did you think of the grocer?” The monk replied that he did not have it. The only thing he could think of was the sword that would cut his throat.

The teacher then said,  “It means that your mind is able to distance itself from the bad memory. If you did it once, you can do it again ”.