让和他的祖父途经巴黎一个广场，他看到，广场一处，一名鞋匠因为鞋子的一点小问题正被客户百般刁难。鞋匠平静地听着客户的埋怨，道了歉，保证会把问题解决。
让和祖父在一家小酒馆停下用咖啡。
在他们的邻桌，侍者想请一位客人移一下椅子以便腾出点位置。那个男人破口大骂，拒绝挪动。
“别忘记你今天看见的，”让的祖父说道，“鞋匠接受了批评，而我们旁边的男人动都不肯动。”
“有用的人，做着有用的事，他们不怕被当作一无是处。”
“而无用的人经常自以为是，将他们的无能隐藏在优越感背后。”
Jean was walking with his grandfather through a public square in Paris.At a certain point, he saw a shoemaker being mistreated by a client, whose footwear showed a flaw. The shoemaker listened calmly to the complaint and apologized, promising to correct the error.
Jean and his grandfather stopped to have coffee at a bistro.At the table next to them, the waiter asked a man to move his chair a little in order to make space. That man burst into a torrent of complaints and refused to move.
“Never forget what you have seen today,” Jean’s grandfather said, “the shoemaker accepted the complaint, while this man next to us didn’t want to move.
“Useful men, who do useful things, don’t mind being treated as useless.
“But the useless always judge themselves as being important and hide all their incompetence behind authority.”
错误的礼物 10 second reading: the wrong gift
我的一个朋友Miie T.——她曾是一位经济学家——决定抛弃一切，致力于学画。
她用了好几年去寻找合适的老师，直到她在西藏遇到了一位精通微型画的女人。Miie离开日本前往西藏山区，和这位一贫如洗的老师住在了一起，学习手艺。
第一年结束后，Miie回日本过了几天，然后带着满满几箱的礼物又回到西藏。她的老师看见她带来的东西，竟然大哭起来，并叫Miie不要再进她的家门了。她说：
“在你回日本之前，我们的关系是关爱和平等的。你的头上有一片瓦，有足够吃的，还能画画。现在你带了这些礼物给我，就等于在我们之间划分了社会阶级。一旦有这个区别存在，我们之间就不会有理解和奉献了。”
A friend of mine, Miie T. decided to abandon everything she knew — she was an economist — in order to dedicate herself to painting.
For years she sought an adequate master until she met a woman who lived in Tibet and specialized in miniatures.
Miie left Japan and went to the Tibetan mountains and moved in with the teacher, who was extremely poor, to learn what she needed to learn.
At the end of the first year, Miie returned to Japan for a couple of days and returned to Tibet with suitcases filled with gifts.
When her teacher saw what she had brought, she began to cry and asked Miie not to come back to her home, saying,
“Before your trip, our relation was of equality and love. You had a roof, food and paints.
“Now, as you brought me these gifts, you have established a social difference between us.
“If this difference exists, there can’t be comprehension and surrendering.”
救了我命的那条鱼 The fish who saved my life
有一次，纳斯尔丁经过一个山洞，看见一位瑜伽士在里面陷入沉思的样子，就问他想弄明白什么。瑜伽士说：
“我研究动物，在它们身上学到了许多可以改变人类一生的道理。”
“有一条鱼曾经救了我的命，”纳斯尔丁回答，“如果你能把知道的都教我，我就告诉你发生了什么。”
瑜伽士惊叹不已。只有圣人才会为鱼所救。他决定将将自己所知的倾囊相授给纳斯尔丁。
当他结束后，他问那斯尔丁：
“现在我把知道的都告诉你了，如果能知道鱼怎么会救你，我会感到非常荣幸。”
“很简单，”纳斯尔丁说：“抓到它的时候我已经差点饿死了，感谢那条鱼，我接下来的三天都不愁没吃的。”
Nasrudin is walking past a cave when he sees a yogi, deep in meditation, and he asks the yogi what he is searching for. The yogi says:
‘I study the animals and have learned many lessons from them that can transform a man’s life.’
‘A fish once saved my life,’ Nasrudin replies. ‘If you teach me everything you know, I will tell you how it happened.’
The Yogi is astonished; only a holy man could be saved by a fish. And he decides to teach Nasrudin everything he knows.
When he has finished, he says to Nasrudin:
‘Now that I have taught you everything, I would be proud to know how a fish saved your life.’
‘Very simple,’ says Nasrudin, ‘I was almost dying of hunger when I caught it and, thanks to that fish, I had enough food for three days.’
在沙漠中的一个地区，水果稀缺。神叫来一位他的预言家，说：--让每个人一天只能吃一个水果。
这条神谕被好几代人遵守着，这块土地的生态被保护得很好。因为剩余的水果提供了种子，其他的树出现了。很快，这个地区的土壤变得肥沃，让其他村子的人们好生羡慕。
但是这里的人们依然每天只吃一个水果 —— 他们虔诚地遵守着祖先中的预言家说过的话。然而，他们从不让其他村子的居民分享每年的丰厚收成。
结果，很多果子都在地上烂掉了。
神又叫来一位新的预言家，说：--让他们想吃多少水果就吃多少吧，然后请他们与他们的邻居分享。
预言家回到村子里传达新的神谕。但是却被村民用石头砸死了—— 因为流传下来的习惯已经在当地居民心中根深蒂固。
随着时间的流逝，年轻的村民开始质疑这个原始的旧习，可元老们定下的法律不可妥协。他们决定放弃信仰这种宗教。于是，他们想吃多少水果就吃多少，剩下的还被拿来分给那些需要食物的人。
唯一剩下的那些忠于当地宗祠的，是那些自认是圣徒的人。但实际上，他们才是看不到世界在改变的人，更没意识到人应该跟着改变。
In the desert, fruit was scarce. God called one of his prophets and said:- Each person may only eat one fruit a day.
The custom was obeyed for many generations, and the ecology of the place was preserved. Since the remaining fruit supplied seeds, other trees appeared. Soon, the entire region was turned into fertile soil, which was the envy of other towns.
But the people continued to eat one fruit a day – they remained faithful to what the ancient prophet of their forefathers had told them. However they never allowed the inhabitants of other villages to take advantage of the abundant harvest with which they were rewarded each year.
The result was that fruit rotted on the ground.
God called a new prophet and said:- Let them eat as much fruit as they like. And ask them to share the abundance with their neighbors.
The prophet came to the town with the new message. But he was stoned – for by now the custom was ingrained in the hearts and minds of each of the inhabitants.
With time, the younger villagers began to question the barbaric old custom. But, since the tradition of the elders was unbending, they decided to abandon the religion. Thus, they could eat as much fruit as they wished, and give the rest to those in need of food.
The only people who remained faithful to the local church, were those who considered themselves saints. But in truth they were unable to see how the world changes, and recognize how one must change with it.
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