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There is a story in a Buddhist sutra about a man who wanted to go on a trip for several days, and he specifically told his servant to look after the house and keep an eye on the donkey to make sure that it wouldn’t go missing.
The servant said, “How can I guard the door and watch the donkey’s whereabouts at the same time?”
The master replied, “You just need to guard the door and tie the donkey with a rope.”
After the master had left the house, the servant put a chair at the doorstep and sat on it, keeping watch on both the donkey, which he had tied with a rope and the door of the house. It happened that there was an open-air theatre performance in the village. The servant heard the beating of the drums from the distant stage and was tempted to go and watch the show. However, he was unable to leave the spot as he had to guard the house and watch the donkey.
Then, the servant came up with what he thought was a perfect plan: He removed the door and tied the door to the back of the donkey so that he could bring both the donkey and the door to the theater. After the show ended, he then walked home slowly with the donkey. At this time, his master returned from his trip, and when he saw that his home was in a mess, he became furious. The door of the house was missing and some of his good quality belongings had been stolen by burglars!
Just when the master was fuming with rage, his servant relaxingly walked back to the house with the donkey, while singing a song. The master furiously asked his servant, “I asked you to look after the house and the donkey. Why didn’t you do your job well? Why is the house wide open without the door?”
The servant replied, “Yes, I did! I did as you ordered. Look, isn’t the door still here? And the donkey is still here too. What did I do wrong?”
The master said angrily, “I asked you to guard the door to the house properly so as to prevent burglars from entering the house to steal. But now, the door has been removed by you and burglars have gone in and stolen everything valuable. What is the use of just guarding the door?”
Spiritual practice is about seeking the pure, innate Buddha nature within us, which is what a spiritual cultivator is expected to do. However, mundane beings are often lost. They do not know how to seek their innate nature from within. Instead, they are constantly being swayed and tempted by external conditions. Therefore, they suffer greatly along the journey of life.
This story describes mundane beings’ mindset, which is attached to superficial things, such as outer “names and appearances”. Many people only say the words: “We must take good care of our minds”, without really delving deep into their hearts and minds to seek the wisdom and pure great love of their true innate nature.
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