WHAT IS LOVE?

As on other days, the teacher and his followers travelled all over the land to do their teaching. Their students were not what you might expect. Some were three-year-old children, and some were old people past their seventies. Regardless of age, they enthusiastically came from many villages and gathered to listen to his teaching.

No one knew where he drew his teachings from, but they were out of the ordinary, outstanding. He not only taught the language, but also how to live, how to be a good human being. People who learned from him belonged to all social strata. They were rich, poor, distinguished, ordinary. Some enjoyed his teachings; others came to ask him many hard questions.

He didn’t have any degree, but his teachings were full of power. Even famous professors sought him out to listen to his teachings. He was that gifted, that busy, but surprisingly he had no wealth. He didn’t even have a fixed dwelling. He often travelled to various places to teach, saying to his students, “The fox has its den, the bird its nest, but I don’t have a place to rest my head on.”

What a pity! He taught everyone out of love and never asked for wages. And yet, when he saw people who were tired and hungry, he asked his followers to find ways to help and feed them.

His teachings were different from those of the other schools’ teachers. They were simple, easy to understand. While the teachers relied on history books and said that the law, past and present, called for “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” he taught everyone to live in harmony and to love each other. We must pardon and love those who hate us or are angry with us. We must help them and put ourselves in their shoes to understand them. He said that if we want someone to do certain things for us, then we must do such things for them first. He taught a new law: the law of love, which is the key that brings success to everyone.

Thus, the number of people who came to receive his teachings increased greatly with time. Although there was no large well-equipped classroom, everyone was disciplined and listened attentively.

However, his popularity brought him many difficulties. A large number of teachers in the region became jealous, and thought that he wooed their students away. They banded together to accuse him of going against the law, then found opportunities to insult him in front of crowds. If they could have, they would put him in jail.

He was teaching on how to love when his opponents brought to him a woman in chains. Some listeners looked shocked; others stared in hostility. The teacher remained silent, and then bent his head and wrote incomprehensible characters on the ground.  His opponents grew bold and, with an air of authority, asked loudly as if challenging him, “Teacher, we just caught this woman in a flagrant act of adultery. According to the law, she must be put to death. What do you think?”

A trap had been set. If he told them to pardon her, he would be advising them to violate the law. He would be put in jail. But if he said to do as they intended– which was to stone her – then how would he be upholding the law of love that he taught?

He remained quiet. His face was calm. He still sat there, continued to write and didn’t say a word. Thinking they had cornered “The One who had the support of the people,” they continued screaming, asking for a reply.

After moments of silence, he stood up. His voice was light, but also very firm, as he said, “Those of you who feel that you are sinless, go ahead and stone her first.” After he had spoken, he sat down once more, and resumed his silence.

That reply, which seemed more like a question, completely changed the atmosphere. The chaotic noises of moments before gave way to a serene atmosphere. No one talked to each other. No one looked into his neighbor’s face. Then they began to leave. Older people left first. Younger ones followed, forming a quiet line.

Their enthusiasm for justice had disappeared. Instead their faces reflected deep thinking about something abstract, and yet concrete, close to them in their daily lives.

As for the woman, she stayed there, standing quietly, trying to make herself small in the background, because she knew she was a sinner. Looking up and seeing the woman alone, the teacher approached her and asked, “Where are all those who were accusing you?”

The woman replied in a small voice, “Teacher, they all went away.”

“So, they no longer accuse you. I do not fault you either. Go and sin no more.”

The lesson of that day was so special. Those circumstances, that story enacted in front of everyone formed a living lesson for everyone. The teacher’s response to the crowd as well as to the woman made everyone think. We all understand that no one is perfect in this life. If we start counting our faults, no one can count them all. The departing crowd remembered this every day of their lives, although they didn’t speak of it. It seemed as if the people looked for every way possible to accuse others, but never saved time to think about their own words or deeds. That day, they had looked into themselves and realized that they were like those whom they had looked down on so many times.

The lesson about love and forgiveness taught by the teacher remained deep within everyone present that day. That lesson still impresses everyone who hears or reads of it.

This life is so beautiful, with thousands of colors and expressions. So many things happen. There are joys and sadness. There are discussions and arguments, but above all, there is love, sharing, forgiveness, and counseling in our life together.

As for the woman, she remembered the teacher’s saying, “Go and sin no more.”

KHOI   NGUYEN