Little Means Much

Two strangers approached the Zen master with sorrow in their hearts. “We have done wrong, and our conscience is troubled. How do we wash away our guilt?” they asked the master.

The first man said, “I have committed a great and grievous crime.” And the second man said, “I have done many wrong things, but they are all small wrongs.”

The holy man reflected for a while and then said to the strangers, “You must go and bring me a stone for each of your misdeeds.” Off they went. After a while the first returned with a huge boulder and with a groan let it fall at the feet of the master. Then came the second man, carrying a bag of small pebbles, and laid them at the feet of the master.

At this the wise master counselled them thus: “Now take all these stones and put them back where you found them.” The first man shouldered his rock again and staggered back to the place from where he had brought it. But the second found this impossible.

The master then counselled the two: “If one has committed a serious wrong, it lies like a heavy stone on his conscience, and when he is truly sorry, he is forgiven and the load is taken away. But if one constantly keeps committing small faults, and does not bother about his behaviour, he is likely not to feel the burden of his guilt that will gradually lead him to greater evil.”