Rich Man, Poor Man
But if you were to hide the world in the world, so that nothing could get away, this would be the final reality of the constancy of the things.-Chuang Tzu
From The Annals Of The Tao:
A certain rich man had a certain way with managing his business. Under his supervision, his estates and investments yielded huge returns. However, he drove his workers mercilessly and made them labor from sunrise to sunset.
There was an old man who had worked his whole life on the estate. He was weakened by hard labor and rough treatment and was no longer able to produce. The rich man showed no compassion for the poor servant and drove him to work harder and longer.
The servant was so miserable, that every night he took respite in his dreams. He dreamed that he was the King of a precious land. He had thousands of servants who he worked hard and long. As a result, he lived in a beautiful palace, toured his kingdom in pomp and luxury, and was happy beyond imagination. But when he woke up the next morning, he was in store for another day of suffering.
His fellow servants tried to comfort him, but the old servant said, “It is not so bad. Though I suffer during the day, at night I enjoy myself beyond my wildest imaginings.”
The rich business man found that he too was tired after a long day of managing his estates. He too would dream, but his dreams were nothing but nightmares. He dreamt he was a poor old servant and bonded to a cruel old master. He was given the meanest tasks and forced to work the longest hours. Even when he was tired, he was driven. Beaten and punished for every possible failure whether or not he was at fault. He suffered miserably in his dreams and found relief only in the daybreak.
Everyday the two men played out the roles of master and servant. The King and the Slave changed their roles upon the nocturnal theater. This continued for days and then for months. Finally, the rich man asked a friend for help.
The friend said to him, “You have a huge fortune and a respected name in the business world. Your social standing is far above the ordinary person. Therefore, you dream you are at the bottom of the social ladder. Things have a way of balancing themselves out. If you want to be King in both your waking life and dreaming life, that’s impossible.”
The business man contemplated his friend’s words and realized he had lost balance. He had made himself fortunate off the suffering of his servants. He began to treat his workers with compassion, lessened their workloads, and did not drive himself and his workers too hard. Everyone felt better and the dreams vanished. The rich man no longer had to face nightmares at night and the poor man no longer had to face nightmares during the day.