Fish in a bowl.

Once a king gave a present to a Sadhu. It was a golden bowl with a goldfish in it. The Sadhu looked at the bowl and then at the fish. He felt very sorry for the fish, because the fish was imprisoned in that golden bowl.  So, the Sadhu went to a lake and released the fish. He was tremendously happy that at least now the fish can have the whole lake, the great freedom, the space that really belonged to the fish. Though the bowl was made of gold it was a confinement. Then he looked at the bowl and thought, what will he do with that bowl? So he threw the bowl also into the lake. 

The next morning Sadhu went to the lake to have a look at the fish and he was surprised, the fish was again in the bowl although the bowl was in the lake. The fish had again chosen the bowl. The bowl was in the lake, but the fish was not in the lake. The fish had entered into the bowl again. The fish had lived in that bowl for so long that it had imagined it to be its home. Sadhu thought the bowl was a prison, but the fish did not think so.