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Amber Merchant.
Jul. 1st, 2005 07:37 amYesterday at the Tai-Chi gathering, the master of ceremonies told us a parable, "to break the ice" so to speak. Here it is.
There was a Chinese peasant, who had a son who had come of age. The peasant wanted his son to learn a trade, so he sent him to the local amber merchant, to be his apprentice.
On the first day the merchant gave the boy a piece of amber and said "hold this in your hand and go sweep the yard". At the end of the day the boy returned the piece to his master and went to sleep. On the second day the same instructions were repeated, and so on for the following month.
During the second month, the amber merchant would give the boy a piece of amber in the morning, tell him to wash the dishes, and return the piece in the evening. During the following year, the boy was also told to go shopping, mow the lawn, paint the fence, and run various errands in the city.
A year had passed and the boy got frustrated. He came to the master and said: "I am sick and tired from this apprenticeship. I haven't learned anything, I've worked like a mule, and I got nothing from it. I quit!". "Okay", said the master, "you are free to go". "You know something?", said the student, "I want to be paid for this entire year of hard labor!". "Sure", said the master, "take this piece of amber, sell it in the market and keep the money". The boy looked at the piece and said "hey, this is not real amber!".
There was a Chinese peasant, who had a son who had come of age. The peasant wanted his son to learn a trade, so he sent him to the local amber merchant, to be his apprentice.
On the first day the merchant gave the boy a piece of amber and said "hold this in your hand and go sweep the yard". At the end of the day the boy returned the piece to his master and went to sleep. On the second day the same instructions were repeated, and so on for the following month.
During the second month, the amber merchant would give the boy a piece of amber in the morning, tell him to wash the dishes, and return the piece in the evening. During the following year, the boy was also told to go shopping, mow the lawn, paint the fence, and run various errands in the city.
A year had passed and the boy got frustrated. He came to the master and said: "I am sick and tired from this apprenticeship. I haven't learned anything, I've worked like a mule, and I got nothing from it. I quit!". "Okay", said the master, "you are free to go". "You know something?", said the student, "I want to be paid for this entire year of hard labor!". "Sure", said the master, "take this piece of amber, sell it in the market and keep the money". The boy looked at the piece and said "hey, this is not real amber!".
