Chapter 7

Patrick waited till noon before trying to reach Celia Hammond. It appeared that she was in Canberra and had just left for lunch. Patrick left word that he would try again around 2:30 [14:30]. Then they went out for a quick lunch.

“This should be easier,” Patrick said as they walked. “People should agree more easily. They shouldn’t be greedy and selfish.”

“True. But think of all the stories. The very first children were envious and selfish: Cain and Abel.”

“I always thought that was about agriculture versus hunter-gathering.”

“It is. Each tale is about many things. Sibling rivalry; cultural differences; greed; jealousy. There’s a Shinto story my grandfather told me:

Once there were two very good friends who lived together in the shade of a rock. One was a lion and one was a tiger. They had met when they were too young to know the difference between lions and tigers. So they did not think their friendship was at all unusual.

It was a peaceful part of the mountains, possibly due to the influence of a gentle forest monk who lived nearby. He was a hermit, who lived far from other people.

One day the two friends got into a silly argument. The tiger said, “Everyone knows it gets__ cold when the moon wanes from full to new!”

The lion said, “Where did you hear such nonsense? Everyone knows the cold comes when the moon waxes from new to full!”

The argument got stronger and stronger. Neither could convince the other. They could not reach any conclusion. They even started calling each other names!

Fearing for their friendship, they decided to go ask the learned forest monk, who would surely know about such things. Visiting the peaceful hermit, the lion and tiger bowed respectfully and put their question to him.

The friendly monk thought for a while and then gave his answer. “It can be cold in any phase of the moon, from new to full and back to new again. It is the wind that brings the cold, whether from west or north or east. Therefore, in a way, you are both right! And neither of you is defeated by the other. The most important thing is to live without conflict, to remain united. Unity is best by all means.”

 

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