When the Thief entered the temple, he did not know that his life was going to change forever.
It was night and he went in to take rest. He saw an old monk, who was eating some fruits. The monk offered him some and asked who he was.
Seeing the venerable monk, the Thief could not lie. “I am a thief, Sir,” he said. “I steal things and I tell lies when I am caught. I gamble away all the money I make.”
The monk looked at him compassionately and said, “Why don’t you try to change? Give up all your bad habits. You may be a happier person.”
“Stealing is my profession and I cannot give it up. I am addicted to gambling and I cannot change it,” said the Thief. But he could not say a complete “No” to the monk. He thought for a while and said, “Perhaps I can try to stop telling lies.”
“That is good,” said the monk. “Begin by speaking only the truth and see what happens.” The Thief agreed and went away in the morning.
Partners in crime
The next night, he planned to steal some of the King’s diamonds. The same night, the King decided to go out in disguise to see how things were in his capital. When he came out of the palace, he met the Thief and asked him who he was and where he was going.
The Thief was about to tell a lie, when he remembered his promise to the monk. “I am a thief and I am going to steal the King’s diamonds,” he said.
The King was taken aback. He thought quickly and told the Thief, “I was planning to do the same and I have even the keys to the jewel room. But I am afraid to go in. Let us make a deal. I will give you the keys. I will stand guard here, while you go inside and steal the diamonds. We will share the booty equally.”
The Thief was happy at his good fortune. He took the keys and went inside. He came back after a while and told the King, “I stole two diamonds and here is one for you.” He gave one diamond to the King and disappeared.
The missing diamond and the real thief
The next morning the King called his Minister and told him, “I think that a thief entered the palace last night. Find out if we have lost anything. Check if the diamonds are safe.”
The Minister went to the jewel room and returned. He told the King, “Your Majesty, the thief has stolen all the three diamonds!”
The King called his guards, described the Thief and asked them to search for him. The guards managed to find him and brought him to the King.
The Thief was taken aback to find that his partner in crime was the King himself. The King asked him to explain why all the three diamonds were missing. The Thief said calmly, “Your Majesty, I told you the truth. I took only the two diamonds I shared with you. I am a thief, but I now speak the truth. I have promised a monk that I will not tell lies.”
The King felt that the Thief was indeed speaking the truth. Where then was the third diamond? The King had an idea. “Search the Minister’s house!” he ordered. Sure enough the guards found the missing diamond.
The King put the Minister in prison and appointed the Thief as his Minister. The Thief could not believe his luck. He went back to the monk and told him what had happened. The monk said, “Just being truthful has brought you such good fortune. Imagine what you will get if you give up stealing and gambling too!”
The Thief gave up all his bad habits and soon became known as the wise Minister.
Afterword: This is a story I read in a Tamil magazine some years ago. I have written the English version based on the notes I had made that time. I do not recall the name of the author.
One good step, and a persistent practice of that, will change our lives step after step. I keep telling all my Indian friends to practice punctuality no matter what the situation is, and being conscious of it brings other virtues with no further efforts or thought. This is a good story and I am sure to make use of in my conversations with others. Thank you RR.
Have often wondered why we lie. The obvious answer to me most of the time was that we don’t have the courage to stand by the truth. It could also be that in our current society, saying a lie is not a big deal. Even if we hear that someone has told a lie, we accept it as if ‘it is ok’. Hence, the cost of telling a lie is not so much and when that’s the case, its’ easier to tell a lie and its’ also more fun (we get the thrill of telling a lie :). But if a lie detector can detect when someone tells a lie, there is something definitely happening inside us when we tell a lie. Unfortunately, we are not sensitive enough to gauge the extent of damage each lie causes!!