Post 33 Leaving money behind after having eaten the dates
During the Song dynasty, there was a man by the name of Cha Dao (查道) who was on the way to visit his relatives at a distant place. During lunch time he and his servant were hungry and there was no eating place around. His servant then suggested that some food brought along by them to be given to the relatives be taken out to be eaten.
However Cha Dao objected and said, “How can we do that since the food is meant to be given as gifts to others? We must be trustworthy.”
When the hungry duo finally reached a date orchard, they wasted no time picking some of the dates to fill their stomach. After they had had their fill, Cha Dao took out a string of money and hung it on the tree from which they had picked the dates.
The servant then asked his master, “Why are you doing this? After all the owner is not here and nobody would have seen us.”
Cha Dao then said to his servant, “Though the owner may not be here and no one could have seen us, it is our moral obligation to be trustworthy. Now that we have eaten the dates, we ought to pay for them.”
Nevertheless, the action of Cha Dao picking the dates without permission may still be questionable.
16 February 2010
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