The husband is bored by the wife, howsoever beautiful she is. The wife is bored by the husband, howsoever great a man he may be. This boredom is expressed in every activity of life; all their actions are dominated by this boredom. Their life seems to be the life of a prisoner: if they change partners, the whole society is against them, they lose their respectability, they may lose their jobs, they may become outcasts. So they go on clinging to each other, but they both go on creating misery also for each other.

Now I will not call this a morality based on clear perception; it is a morality based on ordinary convenience. I know it will be very inconvenient if people go on changing wives. Children won’t know who is the father and who is the uncle. But what is the problem in that? In fact it will be a good chance for the children to know many fathers; it will be a preparation for their own life, and many mothers…it will be a great preparation for their own life. In the future, if society continues to exist after the year two thousand, there is going to be an immense revolution in the man-woman relationship. The whole concept of right and wrong is going to change.

The governor has asked a really fundamental question; if the source is the same then what is the difference between right and wrong? Every moment it has to be decided by a clear conception without any prejudice, without any pre-arranged idea. I’m against morality for the simple reason that it gives you prejudices, superficial prejudices. Anything going against it you immediately take the idea that it is wrong, it is right.

It happened to Lao Tzu, the source of Taoism, that he was made the chief justice of the Supreme Court of China. He begged the emperor, “You are committing a mistake; I’m not the right man. You will repent.”

But the emperor knew that he was the wisest man alive, and he was, there was no doubt about it. He said, “Why should I repent? You are the wisest man.”

Lao Tzu said, “That is the problem. My judgment will come from my wisdom. And your judgments will never be adjustable with my judgments.”

But the emperor was stubborn; he said, “Let us see.”

So the first case came: a thief was caught red-handed in the richest man’s house. Lao Tzu listened to the whole story.

The thief himself confessed that, “In front of you, I cannot lie. If there was another judge, it would be a different matter, but I have always respected you and loved you. So I say there is no need for any witnesses. I have been stealing, not only this time but from this same man’s house I have stolen many times. This time I have been caught. Whatever judgment you feel right, I will not complain.”

Lao Tzu waited for a moment and then said, “Both of you, you and the man whose house you have been stealing from, are criminals.”

“Both?” the rich man asked. “Are you in your senses?”