The Sweeper and The Mystic

[Guest guest]

The Sweeper and the Mystic

 

In an industrial town there was once a janitor who had been much

abused in his life. Everyday he cleaned the plant where he worked

and every day it was done in a sloppy way because he was upset about

the world around him and his lot in life.

 

Then one day he decided to try something. Each bit of refuse, he

imagined, was a memory of some injustice that had been done him. He

carefully swept each thought about his life into neat piles. Then he

went about picking up the piles and putting them into a sack and

ceremoniously taking them to the furnace and burning them. He felt a

little relieved by this and he vowed to do it again the next day.

 

Each day he swept up thoughts and burned them. Then he started

noticing a lot thoughts he had forgotten. Terrible thoughts that he

had carried in his head all these many troublesome years. Now that

he could see them they turned out not to be as horrifying as he first

thought. He careful burned them.

 

One day he realized he had swept all his memories of things he liked

into one pile and all the things he did not like into another. He

decided to group the thoughts into piles. In addition to the piles

about things he liked and didn't like he made a pile of thoughts

concerning himself and another about stupid things he had done. Then

he made a pile of things he feared.

 

As he started to pick up the pile of things he liked he noticed that

this trash had a lot of glass in it. He went looking and found a

broken glass behind some boxes. He boarded up the hole and cleaned

the remaining glass.

 

He went to the pile of things he did not like and likewise noticed

that the trash there pointed him to something he had missed. He

cleaned more thoroughly that day than ever before. Each day he saw

how these bits of trash were signposts to something he was missing.

 

Years later the owner of the plant came and wanted to meet the man

who could keep a plant so clean and safe for his employees.

That day after cleaning up the Janitor saw the clean plant with a

clean mind. He saw as if from high above that he lived in a place

where other janitors could come and see how he had done it.

 

He opened a school and many people were touched by him.

 

In a spiritual town by the sea a young acolyte took the vows that he

felt would assure him of a place in heaven. For years he studied

with the masters until they told him he was enlightened. He was

instructed to teach. But the acolyte was an honest man and did not

feel ready. He left to wander.

 

For many years he traveled finding many masters who taught him their

knowlege but it was never what he wanted. Something was missing. As

an old man sitting by a stream he saw that these masters could never

lead him or point him to enlightenment. He saw his folly and it was

at that point that he saw everything clearly at last. His searching

was over. The stream he was next to was flowing through him. He saw

as if from above how he could teach others how he had done it.

 

He wandered about the world teaching that masters cannot show you the

way. It was his way to discredit those portions of the teachings of

the Masters that might be construed as signposts to enlightenment. He

thus exposed many false teachers, freeing many sincere people from

misconceptions. Many people were touched.

 

One day the Janitor and the Master met. After talking for some time

the Master told the Janitor that his Masters had taught him all these

things and they had not led to enlightenment.

The Janitor said, "What is this Enlightenment thing you speak of? I

have never seen it."

"Exactly" said the Master.

 

So, such is the way of the world.

 

Love

Bobby