Six weeks to make a coat

1001 Tales told by the Master

… a man questioned the tailor. ‘Don’t you remember God created the whole world in six days?’ The tailor said, ‘I know. And look at the world, how he messed it. That’s what happens if you do things in six days.’ An anecdote told by Osho

tailor looking at the inside of a coat

If you say God created the world then the question comes, why did he create the world? […]

And why this world? With so much misery and so much suffering and so much illness and disease and death – why this world? If he created it he could have created a better world. He doesn’t seem to be a great creator.

I have heard:

A man went to a tailor, a famous tailor, and he said that his suit had to be ready as soon as possible, he was going for a world tour. And the tailor said, ‘Look, it will take at least six weeks – not before that, I am too busy. And I am a perfectionist; when I do a thing I do it perfectly. You will have to wait at least six weeks, before that it is not possible.’

The man said, ‘Six weeks? Don’t you remember God created the whole world in six days?’ And the tailor said, ‘I know. And look at the world, how he messed it. That’s what happens if you do things in six days. I cannot do that, it will take six weeks.’

Why did God create this ugly miserable world? Why did he create this hell? Doesn’t seem to be a master-creator, seems to be a very poor artisan. And there are a thousand and one mistakes in it.

You don’t solve by answering the why. Buddha is far more true, he says nobody has ever created it. In that way he disposes of your question. He says it has always been there and will always be there – for no reason at all, for no cause at all. It exists without cause.

Osho, This Very Body the Buddha – Discourses on Hakuin’s Song of Meditation, Ch 7, Q 1 (excerpt)


Series compiled by Shanti
All excerpts of this series can be found in: 1001 Tales</em

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