Catch the thief

[Gonzo]

Catch the Thief

Tzu Hu once late at night shouted in the lavatory, "Catch the thief! Catch the thief!"
In the dark he ran into a monk; he grabbed him by the chest and held him, saying, "Caught him! Caught him!"

The monk said, "Master, it's not me."

Hu said, "It is, but you just won't own up to it."

[Mornings Sun]

What was the monk stealing?

Being enlightend from the origin.
He then was just a 'normal' ignorant guy.

are you a thief too?

[Gonzo]

It's not me.

[Mornings Sun]

It's not me.

Is that so?

Gone so... What can I say - this is funny!

[Gonzo]

Actually I've been wanting to write a serious commentary on "Catch the Thief" - I think the essence of the vignette is very similar to the usually ignored goal in Castaneda: achieving the totality of oneself.

It's easy to imagine the monk struggling with some koan, struggling with dealing with having private, perhaps nerve wracking meetings with the master, where essentially he is demanded only to be himself...and then late at night, running into the old fart in the lavatory, only to be submitted to one more humiliating joke.