There was once a stone cutter who was dissatisfied with himself and with his
position in life.
One day he passed a wealthy merchant's house. Through the open gateway, he saw
many fine possessions and important visitors. "How powerful that merchant
must be!" thought the stone cutter. He became very envious and wished that
he could be like the merchant.
To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying more luxuries
and power than he had ever imagined, but envied and detested by those less wealthy
than himself. Soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan chair, accompanied
by attendants and escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone, no matter how
wealthy, had to bow low before the procession. "How powerful that official
is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a high official!"
Then he became the high official, carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan
chair, feared and hated by the people all around. It was a hot summer day, so
the official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up
at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his presence. "How
powerful the sun is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the sun!"
Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone, scorching the fields,
cursed by the farmers and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him
and the earth, so that his light could no longer shine on everything below.
"How powerful that storm cloud is!" he thought. "I wish that
I could be a cloud!"
Then he became the cloud, flooding the fields and villages, shouted at by everyone.
But soon he found that he was being pushed away by some great force, and realized
that it was the wind. "How powerful it is!" he thought. "I wish
that I could be the wind!"
Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs of houses, uprooting trees,
feared and hated by all below him. But after a while, he ran up against something
that would not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it - a huge, towering
rock. "How powerful that rock is!" he thought. "I wish that I
could be a rock!"
Then he became the rock, more powerful than anything else on earth. But as he
stood there, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the hard
surface, and felt himself being changed. "What could be more powerful than
I, the rock?" he thought.
He looked down and saw far below him the figure of a stone cutter.