There lived a foolish man in a small state called Zheng; in China. One day he was going to buy himself a pair of new shoes. So he measured his feet with a piece of string and cut it to match the size of his foot. But he was in such a hurry to set out that he left it at home.
Knowing the market would be closed by afternoon, he wasted no time in shopping for his shoes. At a shoe store, he picked out a pair which he liked very much, but before he could make up his mind, he wanted to measure them against the string to make sure the size was right. He felt in the pocket only to find that it was not there.
He said apologetically to the storekeeper: “How forgetful I am! I’ll have to go back to fetch the measurement. without it I don’t know the size.”
With these words he put down the shoes and hurried off as fast as his legs could carry him. When he got home. he found the string lying on the chair. He grabbed it and ran back to the market at the same speed as he dashed home.
But it yet took him quite a while and the shop was already closed then. He stared at his string, looking sad. “I should have brought the string the first time!” he said.
Someone nearby heard him and asked: “Did you buy the shoes for yourself or someone else?”
‘For myself, of course.’ he answered. ‘Then why don’t you try them on by yourself?’
Writer Comment
Zheng Ren Mai Lu; A Foolish Man Buys Shoes is used to satirize those who believe only in dogma and ignore objective reality. It tells us not to always believe in the official “textbooks” or what the statistics say. Sometimes we’ve got to think about things in a different way – “thinking outside the box” – and adjust our plans or actions accordingly.
tis story found here… Chinese Story Online
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another zendictive related tale… Change
may you fare-well through life this day
6 comments
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January 23, 2012 at 5:47 am
Cat Forsley
YES !!!!!!! Totally get it …..WE ARE SO BUSY IN OUR BRAINS ——— AGAIN PERSPECTIVE ART —— “TEXTBOOK ” – RIP IT UP – AND YOU CAN SEE THINGS FROM A NEW VIEW —- ADAPTING —- ADAPTATION – LATERAL THINKING ——-
HAVE A BRILLIANT WEEK AND THX FOR THIS ……
OF COURSE A “TEXTBOOK-ISH ” SONG ABOUT SHIOES – AND PERSPECTIVE …..:)
CXX
January 23, 2012 at 12:23 pm
granbee
The motto for the thousand mile journey written on the sole of the foot is even more effective written in the center of the person’s soul.
January 23, 2012 at 4:39 pm
willowdot21
Thank you sir and may you fair well today too , now where did I put that piece of string!!
January 23, 2012 at 7:03 pm
Savira
How true… how many time we have taken another’s words for truth rather than experiencing it for our selves!
January 23, 2012 at 8:04 pm
WordsFallFromMyEyes
Fantastic. I just love your reminders of what we know but lose consciousness of. Another great tale 🙂
January 24, 2012 at 6:23 am
Jackie L. Robinson
Reminds me of the Peaceful Warrior when Socrates has Dan just ‘look’…..to Dan there’s nothing going on. To which Socrates replies: there is ALWAYS something going on. We just don’t stop long enough to recognize it. xo