Buzzati’s Restless Nights Part 3 of 5: Morro the Great
December 17, 2009 by dr. lam
A ragged old man enters a dark prison cell and hears some faint voices in the recesses. “Is anyone there?” asks the man. “Yes, it is Alessandro, the rapist.” “And, Gregorio, the murderer.” “And, Francisco, the thief.” Someone in the darkness then inquires, “And who are you, my friend?” “Well, I am called Morro the Great,” the man replies. “What, you old man? How are you great? And how did you get here?” someone shouts out. “Well, the name is not one that I chose but that was given to me. Let me tell you my story.”
Morro the Great, a vagabond, wandered in front of the gates of a very noble, rich man with many servants. One of the guards noticed him and exclaimed, “That is the thief that stole our master’s money yesterday. Arrest him.” As they seized the man, the guard asks, “And what should we tell our master your name is?” “My name is Morro the Great,” the man replies. “What, that is our master’s name. How dare you mock him?”
The guards immediately led him in front of the master and to whom was explained the situation. The master laughingly cries out, “That is very funny. I myself was wandering in a foreign land and presented myself as Morro the Great. Upon hearing that, I was seized and brought to a great scientist. The people hearing me exclaimed ‘How could a rich man be considered great when our Morro the Great has advanced the field of science and human knowledge. Only he can be great.’ Upon arriving to the scientist’s castle, the scientist laughingly exclaims, “Oh, this happened to me one time. I was wandering in a far off land called Europe and someone asked how I a stupid scientist could share the name of the great warrior Morro the Great so they enchained me and brought me to the warrior. “ The warrior told a similar story of how he had been visiting another land and was asked by the local people, “How could a bloodthirsty warrior use the name of our Morro the Great, a religious master, who has abjured all pleasures in life.” Upon coming to the small hut, the warrior saw that his life was one that he regretted and bowed down to his humble man by the same name.
The fellow prisoners then asked, “Then are you Morro the Great, the famous hermit?” The ragged old man laughs and replies, “Life is funny that way.”
The lesson of this story that I got is that human greatness may come in many forms. We tend to exert our brand of greatness to the exclusion of all others. We carry our pride on our sleeves and show that we are better than others when perhaps we are not. We are all one and the same, part of a larger human chain. As soon as we let go of our foolish notions of our own greatness, can we see the humor and greatness that we all share as part of humanity.
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9 Responses to “Buzzati’s Restless Nights Part 3 of 5: Morro the Great”
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Hmm. I see beauty in this, but don’t agree with every aspect. However, I’m pretty certain the blog’s purpose isn’t debate, lol. On the contrary, I see its purpose as helping, unifying. Thank you for that, we so need it. So, namaste.
cool. open to any thoughts.
namaste too!
I really appreciate that, thanks.
Reading this again, I recalled a time when I was in a foreign place, didn’t speak the language, and was totally lost with nothing in my pocket. That feeling, many know or may imagine. So grateful for the aid of ANYone.
Also reminds me of my favorite John Cougar (for those old enough to recall he was once just John Cougar) song: “Hand to Hold Onto”. Reduce everything down and……
Sorry if completely random, lol.
Namaste is such an excellent word, btw. Glad you’ve taught us this stuff. See, I think YOU are better than many, you’re like the “information please” surgeon.
even though i am only 22 years old, i still remember john cougar as john cougar. go figure. thanks nord!
another scary article on US tap water and the growing risks of cancer, kidney damage, hormonal damage, and a host of side effects that we don’t even know yet. A MUST READ!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/us/17water.html
Great story and great interpretation, Dr. Lam!! I look at it as it takes all kinds of people to make the world run. No one thing is greater than another or a person is greater than the other; all are needed and important. Great point!
I think everyone has a perceived something that they look up to as successful and probably from society and social influences. I also think that people in general tend to think the grass is greener on the other side and view something that is considered “great” to be greater than it is or they forget to realize the greatness in what they are doing or the greatness in the people around them. Reminds me of the other blog, that happiness, contentment, greatness, etc, are never found under conditions. Great things to contemplate, Dr. Lam!
I see, Dr. Lam is now starting to fess up more on his real age.
haha. yes!
Heather, I think you are very wise, despite being quite young, near Dr. L’s age.
Aww, thanks Nord!!! You are wise too! =) Well, Dr. Lam’s mom is obviously somewhere in her thirties, so that means he has to be pretty young too.
He can’t fool us!