once

Once, Patrul Rinpoche was traveling with a servant to Central Tibet. They had a lot of money with them. The reason they were carrying so much money was that they were going to Central Tibet to offer butter lamps, make statues, and do many other virtuous things. The two were traveling alone across the Chang Thang Desert which was notorious for its thieves. At night they couldn’t sleep because they feared someone was going to steal the money, so they suffered terribly. And in the daytime they were constantly looking around, ahead and behind, wondering, “Are the thieves going to come? Where will they come from?” After some time had gone by like this, Patrul Rinpoche realized, “It’s the money. If I didn’t have all this money, I could rest at night and travel comfortably. I wouldn’t have constantly to look over my shoulder to see if a thief is coming.” While he was thinking this, his servant was walking ahead looking out for the thieves and robbers while Patrul Rinpoche was behind. “Well, its really simple,” he thought. “This money is the source of the trouble and I am going to get rid of it.” With that, he threw the money into the river, thinking, “It’s gone now. That’s great. Now I’m really happy.” So he went along while his servant was still watching out for the thieves and robbers. Finally he said to his servant, “We don’t have to worry anymore. The thieves and robbers are in the water.” The servant said, “What do you mean ‘the thieves and robbers are in the water’? They are everywhere.” Patrul Rinpoche said, “No, I threw the money in the water. So that’s where the thieves are too.”