Wisdom from the sages can get pretty rich—chew on this for a lighter snack.
A wise man is given a luxurious carriage in appreciation for sharing his wisdom. “Isn’t it great?” his family and friends say when they come over to celebrate. “You are so lucky!”
The man only smiles and says, “Maybe.”
For a few weeks he enjoys riding around in the carriage, until the day a drunken oxcart driver runs him into the ditch and he sustains multiple injuries. His family comes to see him at the roadside inn where he was taken to recuperate. “That was really unfortunate,” they tell him.
Again he just smiles and says, “Maybe.”
One night while he is still recovering at the inn, a landslide sweeps his house into the sea.
“Weren’t you lucky to have been here at the inn!” his friends say the next day.
Once more he smiles and says, “Maybe.”