The thief's illumination
There was a confirmed thief who used to steal every night. His wife was very, very honest. She used to beg him, “Please do not steal, do not steal!”Her husband would reply, “If I do not steal, if I do not practise my profession, I will not be able to support you.”
The wife’s answer was, “I will be able to support both of us. I can go out and work. I can clean old ladies’ houses. We shall easily be able to manage. Please give up this dishonest life!”
But the thief said, “No, no, it is beneath my dignity for you to go out and do maid’s work.”
“It is beneath my dignity to have a husband like you who steals!” said the poor wife.
Then the husband threatened his wife. He said, “If I hear you say once more that it is beneath your dignity, then I shall thrash you. It is a husband’s duty to support his wife by any means.”
So the situation continued. Every night the thief used to steal, and every night his wife used to cry and beg him to give up that kind of work. Finally the husband thought of a solution that would bring a little peace into their marriage. He said to his wife, “From now on, I shall keep whatever I steal someplace else so that you do not have to be reminded of the stolen goods. I will tell you that I am just visiting my friends when I come and go at odd hours. Then you can imagine that I am living a different kind of life.”
His wife said, “Why are you trying to fool me? I shall never forget for a moment what kind of life you are leading.”
But the husband was determined to put his brilliant plan into effect. For a few weeks he kept all his loot at the house of one of his friends. This fellow’s wife did not mind at all. Her husband was also a thief and she did not find anything wrong with his calling. Sometimes the two thieves would work alone and sometimes jointly. Then, after a few months had elapsed, they would resell the stolen property and make lots of money.
One morning the first thief returned home full of sadness. He told his wife that when he went to his friend’s house that evening to store some things that he had stolen, he discovered that his thief-friend and his wife had left the village. And they had taken with them all the things that the two thieves had stolen for the last few weeks! This fellow was left with nothing.
His wife said to him, “Now you can see how much people suffer when their valuables are stolen from them! In your case, these things were not even yours to start with, but still you feel so miserable. Surely those who have had their own things stolen feel infinitely more miserable that you do at this moment!”
Suddenly the thief saw that his wife was right. He had not even thought about the suffering his actions would cause others. He touched his wife’s feet and said, “You have illumined me. I shall give up this life of stealing. But do not worry. You will not have to work as a cleaner. I am going out to look for a job as honest as you can ever imagine!”
