One great mystic, Nagarjuna used to live naked. He had only a begging
bowl; that was his only possession. But perhaps he was the greatest genius that has been born on this earth, as far as intelligence is concerned – his
sharpness is incomparable. Great kings, queens, great philosophers were his students. One queen was very much devoted to him, and
when he came to her capital she had made a golden begging bowl studded with diamonds.And when he came to the palace to beg, she said, "First you have to give me a promise." He said, "You are asking a promise from a naked man who has nothing but his begging bowl." She said, "That will do. I'm just asking for the begging bowl." He said, "You can take it." She said, "That is only half. I will replace it, and you will have to take my begging bowl." He said, "There is no problem, any begging bowl will do." He was not at all aware of what she was hiding. It was a golden begging bowl studded with very valuable diamonds.
He took it. As he was going back to the ruins of the monastery where he was staying, one thief saw him and could not believe his eyes. The
begging bowl was shining like stars and he is a naked man - of course very beautiful, magnificent; but what is the begging bowl doing with this naked man? And how long can he keep it? Somebody is going to take it away, so why not I? He followed Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna went inside a room, which was a little shed with just the walls left. The whole monastery was in ruins,
and there was a window by the side, and the thief was hiding outside the window knowing that Buddhist monks eat only once a day. Now he will eat, and then he will have a little sleep - just a nap. And that will be the right moment. In this monastery nobody lives. It is thousands of
years old. But before giving him a chance to steal the bowl, Nagarjuna ate his food and threw the bowl out of the window where the thief was sitting. The thief could not believe it. He was really shocked. For a moment he could not think what to do; what kind of man is he? He has eaten his food and thrown away this immensely valuable bowl as if it is of no use - and exactly where I am sitting.
He stood up and he asked Nagarjuna, "Can I come in just to ask one question?" Nagarjuna said, "To bring you in, I had to throw the bowl
out. Come in. The bowl is yours; don't be worried. I have given it to you so you will not be a thief. It is a gift, a present. I am a poor man. I don't have anything else, only that bowl; and I know I cannot keep it for long because I will have to sleep, somebody will take it away and you have taken so much trouble. From the capital you followed me, and I have been
watching. And it is a hot summer day. Please don't refuse. Take it."
The thief said, "You are a strange man. Don't you know how costly it is?" Nagarjuna said, "Since I have known myself nothing is costly." The thief
looked at Nagarjuna and said, "Then give me one present more: how can I know myself in comparison to which this precious bowl is nothing?" He said, "It is very simple." But the thief said, "Before you say anything I want to introduce myself. I am a well-known thief."
Nagarjuna said, "Who is not? Don't be concerned with trivia. In this world everybody is a thief because everybody comes naked without anything, and then everybody has something or other. All are thieves, so don't be worried. That's why I live naked. It is perfectly okay. Whatever you are doing, do it well. Just do one thing: when you are stealing be aware, be alert, be watchful. If you lose watchfulness then don't steal. That is a simple rule for you." The thief said, "It is very simple. When I can see you again?" He said, "I will be here for two weeks. You can come any day, but first try it."
For two weeks he tried, and he found that it is the most difficult thing in the world. Once he reached even into the palace, opened the door of
the treasures, but when he will try to take something he will lose his awareness. And he was an honest man. So he will leave that thing -
that cannot be taken. But it was difficult: when he was aware, there was no desire to take anything; and when he was not aware, he wanted to take the whole treasure. Finally he came empty-handed to Nagarjuna and
he said, "You have disturbed my whole life.Now I cannot steal." Nagarjuna said, "That is not my problem. Now it is your problem. If you want to steal forget all about awareness." But the thief said, "Those few moments of awareness were so valuable. I have never felt so at ease, so peaceful, so silent, so blissful - the whole treasure of the kingdom was nothing compared to it.
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