Long ago, the priests in temples never ate anything but vegetarian food. It was considered evil to kill living things like animals or fish to eat their flesh. However, the priest of one temple went to a parishioner family one cold winter day and said, "I'm getting old, and the cold chills me right through on days like this."
The parishioner replied, "You know, Osho-san, you ought to eat some salted salmon. Besides tasting good, it will warm you from the bottom of your stomach outwards."
Hearing that advice, the priest began to have a great desire for salted salmon. Salted salmon is, however, fish. Non-vegetarian fish. Something that priests don't eat. The priest didn't know what to do. He finally decided he should send his acolyte on an errand.
And so he called out, "Kozo! Kozo! I'm worried about the cold, so won't you go into town and buy me a salted salmon. I'm going to use for medicine."
When he heard that, the acolyte thought to himself, "Osho-san is being clever. It's no medicine."
But he said "Yessir" and started out. He bought the fish and took it back to the temple, but when he went to the priest's room, there was a guest there.
"If I take the salted salmon in while the guest is there, it will put Osho-san in a bad spot," the acolyte thought. But he was a master of mischief, and decided "That should be funny-- I'll give Osho-san a little bit of a hard time."
And so he slipped into the hall and said, "Osho-san, I bought that medicine for you." As he did, he placed the salted salmon in front of the priest and his guest.
The priest was quite embarrassed. He wondered what he could say, but for the moment he couldn't say anything. Finally he answered, "What do you mean? That's not medicine, it's a fish. Please release it in a mountain lake."
What do you think? Will a salted salmon swim away happily if you let it go in a mountain lake?