Some Rise by Sin, Some Rise by Virtue

In an old city in ancient Japan there once lived a prostitute and a monk. They didn't know each other. They weren't even acquaintances. Yet each of them was deeply influenced by the other. Their lives were closely connected.

Every evening as the prostitute left her home on the way to earn a night’s wage, she would pass by the Buddhist temple where this monk lived. And every evening the young monk would be seated outside in the temple garden doing meditation.

As the young prostitute passed by the temple, she would see the monk seated in meditation and would think to herself, "What an amazing young man. What a noble life he is leading. Such a pure existence, untainted by the worries and concerns of this world. How rare and how wonderful!"

These thoughts sustained the young woman and gave her strength to endure her life. Just to know that someone was leading such a pure life gave her both hope and encouragement, even though she knew that such purity could never be her own. She always felt blessed just walking by the temple and being in the presence of such sacred energy.

The monk, although supposedly seated in deep meditation couldn't help but notice the woman as well. Every evening as the young woman passed by the temple, the monk would become distracted and think to himself, "What an immoral woman. How could she make a living doing what she does? Where is her self-respect and dignity?"

Author Unknown