- Returning Home with an Empty Pack
- 1 Having given away the money he had borrowed, Hyung-yul did not know what he would say when he arrived home without rice and without having eaten lunch.
- 2 As he approached the house with an empty wooden pack on his back, his wife ran outside, asking, “Have you bought rice?”
- 3 Unable to explain, he laughed and said, “I could not buy rice, because I lost the money.”
- 4 The family was disappointed. Hyung-yul’s wife sighed. “The children had only porridge for breakfast and had nothing for lunch. How can I let them go without dinner? It is all right for us: we are adults.” Lamenting their poverty, she went back inside.
- 5 Though relieved to avoid blame, Hyung-yul felt sorry for his wife. He took off the wooden pack, but then put it on again and headed for Chung-doh-wun Village. There, he saw a man he recognized, who was returning home from work.
- 6 Halfheartedly, Hyung-yul said to him, “There is no food in my house. I tried to borrow some at the market, but was unable to. I returned home empty-handed, and my family went without dinner. I could not bear to see my family go hungry, so I came here to see what I could do about it. However, I cannot visit anyone, because the sun has already gone down. This is the miserable state in which I meet you. If you lend me a small bag of rice, I will replace it on the next market day.”
- Yearning to See Sahng-jeh-nim Again
- 7 The man stopped walking and said, “I have good news for you. My son-in-law, who is in the business of lending rice, got back last year’s rice with interest and has asked me to lend it out again. I have lent most of it, but there is one sack left. Why don’t you take it home and give me back a sack and a half in the autumn?” Hyung-yul was pleased to hear this, but worried that something could go wrong.
- 8 The man said, “It is a bad omen when a household runs out of food. You should eat and earn.”
- 9 “All right, I agree!” said Hyung-yul. As he put the sack of rice on his back, he thought, “What good fortune. This must be by virtue of my Teacher.” He was so delighted that he ran home through the darkness, forgetting about his hunger and singing all the way.
- 10 His family, with no rice to cook, could do nothing but sit and wait. When Hyung-yul finally arrived, they were surprised and asked, “What happened?”
“I have borrowed a whole sack of rice.”
- 11 His wife laughed with joy. “I will pay for that rice by weaving cloth. Is it really a whole sack? We are surely on our way to prosperity. My dear husband, losing that money became our good fortune.” His family was jubilant.
- 12 Every day, deep in his heart, Hyung-yul yearned to be in Sahng-jeh-nim’s presence. He wondered, “Where will my Teacher stay tonight? When will I see Him again?”
- (JSD Dojeon 2,18)
