"Once a monkey keeper was getting ready to feed acorns to his charges. He said, 'I will give you three in the morning and four in the evening.'
"The whole tribe was furious.
" 'All right,' he said, 'I will give you four in the morning and three in the evening.'
"They were all highly delighted.
"The reality behind the words was no different, yet they evoked great anger and joy in his charges. And this is typical.
"The sage, on the other hand, lets right and wrong be as they please and rests in heavenly balance. To him, all goes.
"This story is a classic on the theme of reality. Reality is one thing; how we see it and react to it is another. In fact, we do not react to the way things are, to any actual reality, but to our feelings about it. Reality in itself is completely subjective.
"Think of music — you may really like hard rock or rap, which to your parents is just noise. Or of sights — you may totally detest a certain outfit or pair of shoes, which to the wearer is the height of fashion. Smells, tastes, touch — they are all like this, which is why we have a perfume and soap industry, cuisines from all different countries, various kinds of fabrics, body lotions, and so on.
"The trick, according to the Chuang-tzu, is to let go of right and wrong, good and bad, likes and dislikes, to learn to accept that reality means different things to different people. It is best to stay calm and relaxed, centered and focused, resting in 'heavenly balance.' But why is it so difficult to do that?"
