The Final Story I Heard From My Taiko
I went to visit my taiko [my eldest brother] early in the morning on 11th December of 2007. We had a short chat. He told me a story he read from newspaper. That evening he departed after a severe heart attack at around 11 pm. The story he narrated that morning became the final story I heard from him. Below is the story I wish to share with you.
"Once upon a time, there was a miser by the name Chee Lo Pak. He wanted to buy a pair of wooden sandals [木屐, Muji] for himself.
He went to a stall in the town to try out several pairs of the wooden sandals and found one pair to be very fitting and comfortable. However, on finding out from the vendor that all the sandals are of the same price irrespective of their sizes, he changed his mind like a flash. He thought it would be more economical and to his advantage as a buyer to get a bigger and longer pair of sandals.
After a bitter round of bargaining of prices with the vendor, he paid the money and put on the sandals immediately.
As the sandals were bigger in size, the wooden portions were protruding from his heels by inches. It looked awkward to others. But to him it was considered a good buy.
On the way home he met an old friend who invited him to have a chat at a nearby eating stall. His friend gave him a treat with some dumplings and steamed buns and a pot of Chinese tea. They had a good chat while enjoying the food.
Time flied as the minute hand made several rotations. When it was time for them to depart, there remained some food uneaten. Our friend, Chee Lo Pak, under the pretext of not wanting to waste the food unnecessary, readily wrapped up the food with a piece of paper to bring home for his son to consume. This again would save him some money on that day’s expenditure.
After walking for some distance, he felt uncomfortable with his stomach. He needed to ease himself. He wasted no time to look for a nearby toilet to answer nature’s call. He squatted in the toilet to do his business. As his sandals were protruding, substantial amount of his shit fell on the tail ends of his sandals.
He contemplated that it would be a waste just to ward off the shit from his sandals. He might as well use it to feed the fish in the pond behind his house.
He carefully scooped the shit that had stuck on his sandals with his fingers and placed it on another piece of paper, and wrapped it up properly before putting it into his pocket.
Now, he had two packets of ‘foods’ in his pocket. He walked home gracefully, humming softly to himself in a lively mood.
On reaching home, he threw one packet of food into the fish pond before he entered his house. He left the other packet on the dining table, anticipating his son to be back for lunch very soon.
In the end, it turned out to be the fish were enjoying the delicious food once in a life time while his son was very annoying and cursing his father for creating such a mischief on him."
He went to a stall in the town to try out several pairs of the wooden sandals and found one pair to be very fitting and comfortable. However, on finding out from the vendor that all the sandals are of the same price irrespective of their sizes, he changed his mind like a flash. He thought it would be more economical and to his advantage as a buyer to get a bigger and longer pair of sandals.
After a bitter round of bargaining of prices with the vendor, he paid the money and put on the sandals immediately.
As the sandals were bigger in size, the wooden portions were protruding from his heels by inches. It looked awkward to others. But to him it was considered a good buy.
On the way home he met an old friend who invited him to have a chat at a nearby eating stall. His friend gave him a treat with some dumplings and steamed buns and a pot of Chinese tea. They had a good chat while enjoying the food.
Time flied as the minute hand made several rotations. When it was time for them to depart, there remained some food uneaten. Our friend, Chee Lo Pak, under the pretext of not wanting to waste the food unnecessary, readily wrapped up the food with a piece of paper to bring home for his son to consume. This again would save him some money on that day’s expenditure.
After walking for some distance, he felt uncomfortable with his stomach. He needed to ease himself. He wasted no time to look for a nearby toilet to answer nature’s call. He squatted in the toilet to do his business. As his sandals were protruding, substantial amount of his shit fell on the tail ends of his sandals.
He contemplated that it would be a waste just to ward off the shit from his sandals. He might as well use it to feed the fish in the pond behind his house.
He carefully scooped the shit that had stuck on his sandals with his fingers and placed it on another piece of paper, and wrapped it up properly before putting it into his pocket.
Now, he had two packets of ‘foods’ in his pocket. He walked home gracefully, humming softly to himself in a lively mood.
On reaching home, he threw one packet of food into the fish pond before he entered his house. He left the other packet on the dining table, anticipating his son to be back for lunch very soon.
In the end, it turned out to be the fish were enjoying the delicious food once in a life time while his son was very annoying and cursing his father for creating such a mischief on him."
The moral value of this story, in my opinion, is to impart the message that no matter how much we plan for our future, the ultimate end results may not turn up to be what we expected [人算不如天算].
Could there be any other hidden moral values which my taiko wished to highlight? I am not sure. Maybe you can enlighten me on this, why not?
Could there be any other hidden moral values which my taiko wished to highlight? I am not sure. Maybe you can enlighten me on this, why not?
14 comments:
Thanks for this very interesting story. Well, there is a saying, Penny Wise, Pound Foolish.
Laura Feria commented on this post on September 24
“mmm, I dont speak so much english, but this history is so special, because is not necesary to plan our life perfectly or our future; but is necesary to plan the best for it, and for the people that we love, with out reservations, give all we can to give... Thanks for this history, something of this is necesary for my life in this moment.mmm, and I hope that my words are so understandable. again, thanks.”
My friend Jacqui Graham commented:
"Thank you for the story - I have enjoyed reading and thinking about it...
The story says many things but what it says most to me is that every thought and action we take in life has an effect on ourselves, on the people around us and on our world.
All of the miser's actions are based on fear and greed. He does not believe that the world will provide for him and it is this fear that causes wrong thinking and wrong action.
The Law of Nature is simple - it will provide all that you need if you trust in it... and so it is that the miser's very lack of trust, fear and disharmony and attempt to protect himself that ultimately brings disharmony into his own life.
On a happier note, I am glad that the little fishes finally got fed..."
Thanks for the story. I agree with the other readers, but the end part of the story really caught my attention. getting feed something undesirable can leave a mental impack
on ones thinking. to me it's important to be very careful in what we feed to others mentally if it's not going to be beneficial to yourself or them.
Thanks for the story... I do have another moral...
Even though you expect something good from your parents... sometimes all you get is shit...
I believe the message here is not to waste precious time, for every moment counts. We can never plan everything in life, for there are lessons to be taught along the way to enrich our souls, and grow in wisdom. Your brother's story was showing that this person was taking advantage of the "deal" that any size is the same price, so he bought the larger shoe to share, but also he was greedy. I believe you should only reach for realistic dreams, not to try to fit into something beyond your ability. It is wonderful to have great expectations, but be realistic. Once you reach for one level, reach for the next. Then you will not be let down, and you can feel accomplished! He didn't want to waste anything, yet he did not satisfy the person he really wanted to satisfy. It is important to remain level headed and not bite more than what you can swallow!!!
Regards, Randa Kassisieh
Nuket Yener commented at 5:12am September 29
"Thanks for sharing this story with me. I reach two consequences on this story, one is to tell us miserliness is how bad, horrible and miserable things and the other is destiny. As we see here, we can’t change our destiny. Always destiny wins."
Maria Bailey had her comment at 10:08pm September 28:
"If Chee was a miser, then chances are he did not buy the wooden sandles. If he wanted them bad enough then he would buy them. I am not sure what you wanted to know about this or why I should even comment on it!! Take care."
Barbara Jane Sowak commented at 10:57pm September 29:
"This is certainly right that life may throw curve balls at us and no matter how we plan and what we expect, one never knows what will happen."
"I will add that we can only hope and pray that the outcomes in life are for the best."
Barbara Jane Sowak commented at 10:57pm September 29:
"This is certainly right that life may throw curve balls at us and no matter how we plan and what we expect, one never knows what will happen."
"I will add that we can only hope and pray that the outcomes in life are for the best."
Hi -
Being frugal isn't a bad thing, but if it causes unwise decisions (such as buying shoes that are too big), then it's not a good thing. Too big shoes = uncomfortable feet.
What a funny story. The hidden value is : Working is for earning, while earning is for SPENDING, please, don't let yourself or your family suffer, i never can imagine what I'll do if my dad serves that "food" to me, haha!
I think the moral of the story is, it is good to waste not, but don't be so frugal that in the end, in trying so hard not to get screwed, you end up screwing yourself.
I was privileged to be introduced to your blog since May of 2009, and just came across this article about your taiko. I know it has been awhile since he passed on; my belated condolences to you and your family. I still can remember vividly his facial features as a young man...sitting on a low stool,always bent over some metal object and shaping it into something useful with his tools.This familiar scene is etched in my memory as I frequently passed by your shophouse on the way to Bak Tee's. From your picture of him, I gather he lived to a ripe old age and was healthy. I doubt we can find the kind of sense of responsibility and sacrifice that he portrayed in our younger generation of today. I know that you know you were fortunate to have him as your taiko, and hence your article as a tribute to him. May he rest in peace.
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