There was a soldier who always looked happy, and people couldn’t

understand how this could be. They kept asking him, “What is the reason?
Why are you so happy?

He said, “I had a friend who was as merchant. He taught me how to be

happy.” People could not understand this. A merchant—how could he teach
anyone happiness? So the soldier told them this anecdote:

“One day my merchant friend and I were walking down the road. I looked at
him and asked, “How do you remain happy?’ He didn’t answer.

“We kept walking down the road. In the meantime he glanced in a shop
window and saw a cup and saucer which matched one of his sets at home.
He said, ‘I’ll buy this cup and saucer. They will make my set complete’

“So we went inside the shop. The shopkeeper set a price, and the merchant
said, ‘It’s too high. I won’t pay that much.’

“The shopkeeper said, ‘They were very expensive and hard to find. I can’t
lower the price.’

“The merchant said, ‘In that case, fine. I don’t want them.’ And we left the
shop.

“We had only taken a few steps when the shopkeeper came after us with the
cup and saucer and said, ‘Okay, okay, buy them at your price!!’

“We went back to the shop,” the solider continued. “As the merchant was
paying the money, I saw a magnificent sword. It was so beautiful I decided
to buy it. I thought I would use the same tactic the merchant had used. So I
asked the shopkeeper what it cost. The price he mentioned was too high; I
couldn’t afford it.

“So I offered a lower price, and he said, ‘No way. This was expensive, and
very hard to find.’

“ ‘Then I don’t want it,’ I replied.

“We walked out of the shop again. As we went, I kept looking back to see if
the shopkeeper was coming after us, but he was standing in his doorway,
watching us go. Two hours passed. When we finally got home, I asked the
merchant, ‘How is it that he came running after you? But he didn’t even
think twice about letting me walk away.’

“The merchant answered, ‘When I said, “No, I won’t buy the cup at that
price,” I meant it. I put the cup out of my mind. The matter was settled. My
desire was gone. My certainty, my conviction, was so strong that the
shopkeeper knew I meant what I said. But you still want the sword and the
shopkeeper knows you’ll go back and buy it as his price tomorrow.’”

Then the merchant explained to the soldier, “I do business when I must, but
before I go to sleep, I burn down all my warehouses in my mind. Then I am
just a sleeping man, free of all possessions. I never have nightmares, I never
have to drive bargains in my dreams. I am happy and peaceful. I wake up in
the morning refreshed and ready to go back to work.”

The soldier told the people, “in the same way, when I go to bed I free myself
from combat, even on the battlefield. And when I wake up in the morning, I
am rejuvenated and can perform my duty once again.

Darshan 40 Contentment