On Buying & Selling
And a merchant said, “Speak to us of Buying and Selling.”
And he answered and said:
To you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your hands.
It is in exchanging the gifts of the earth that you shall find […]
On Clothes
And the weaver said, “Speak to us of Clothes.”
And he answered:
Your clothes conceal much of your beauty, yet they hide not the unbeautiful.
And though you seek in garments the freedom of privacy you may find in them a harness and a chain.
On Joy & Sorrow
Then a woman said, “Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.”
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
On Eating and Drinking
Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said, “Speak to us of Eating and Drinking.”
And he said:
Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light.