Carl Jung: The Rainmaker

There was a drought in a village in China. They sent for a rainmaker who was known to live in the farthest corner of the country, far away. Of course that would be so because we never trust a prophet who lives in our region; he has to come from far away. 

So he arrived and he found the village in a miserable state. The cattle were dying, the vegetation was dying, the people were affected. The people crowded around him and were very curious what he would do. He said, ‘Well, just give me a little hut and leave me alone for a few days.’ 

So he went into this little hut and people were wondering and wondering, the first day, the second day. On the third day it started pouring rain and he came out. They asked him, ‘ What did you do?’ ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘that is very simple. I didn’t do anything.’ ‘But look’ they said, ‘now it rains. What happened?’ 

And he explained, ‘I come from an area that is in Tao, in balance. We have rain, we have sunshine. Nothing is out of order. I come into your area and find that it is chaotic. The rhythm of life is disturbed, so when I come into it I, too, am disturbed. The whole thing affects me and I am immediately out of order. So what can I do? I want a little hut to be by myself, to meditate, to set myself straight. 

And then, when I am able to get myself in order, everything around is set right. We are now in Tao, and since the rain was missing, now it rains.’

From C.G. Jung, Emma Jung and Toni Wolff: A Collection of Remembrances  (The Analytical Psychology Club of San Francisco, 1982)