Giving
Let's
confirm the purpose again that we are going to set off on a mind journey
towards eternity or the innocent world. You have to prepare yourself to be
suitable for this journey of a lifetime. The next requirement is giving.
Although giving isn't as strict as observing the moral precepts, it is one of
the main supporting factors which can help to boost your practice later on. So,
I would like to place it as one of the requirements before you set off on your
mind journey.
When
I talked about the enlightening culture in 'A Handful of Leaves', I also talked
about the spirit of giving among the Thai people which has become one of the
Thai characteristics. In this chapter I will however put more stress on the
aspect of how giving can help you to walk this path quicker.
Before
you can appreciate the goodness of giving, you must know the harm of the
opposite quality first, selfishness. Generally speaking, I am sure that we all
used to be selfish in one way or another and to a greater or lesser degree. If
your selfishness included being tight-fisted as well, I would like you to
recall the feeling when you were cornered to give something away or rather to
lose something unwillingly. Can you remember the terrible pain and awful
feeling in your heart and stomach? It is a rather agonizing feeling, isn't it?
People are different. Some are kind-hearted and being generous is almost
natural to them, whilst some are extremely stingy even to their partners and own
flesh and blood. Let's not talk about those who pretend to be extremely kind
and generous to others because they want something in return. Consequently,
they use their wealth to buy their way through life, as long as they have money
of course.
I
am going to talk about normal situations which happen to people of all status,
no matter whether they are rich or poor. Suppose you are a normal human being
and even kind-hearted too. Once in your lifetime, you must have experienced
such a feeling when you had to give something away. That thing could have meant
a lot to you or maybe didn't even mean anything to you at all. After you had
given it away, you felt terrible regret and wished you could have your thing
back, but it was too late so you grieved over it for a while until you forgot
about it. It is a very normal human experience which appears to do no harm to
anyone, isn't it?
But
this is exactly the precise point that I want you to look at if you seriously
want to walk the path. Although such destructive feelings do no harm to others,
the first person who is hurt is yourself. This is the kind of feeling that will
slow down your practice. Why?
You
must know that to enter the innocent world or reach eternity means that your
sense of self or egoism has to be totally eradicated. The door entering into
Nirvana or the Kingdom of God is indeed very narrow. If you pull a single
strand of your hair out and cut it into three parts, even one part of it is far
too big to go through the entrance to Nirvana or eternity.
Selfishness,
stinginess, meanness, self-centredness, self-absorbtion, self-importance, etc.
are the extra extension of the original self or ego resulting from ignorance.
Ignorance towards this piece of good news or Nirvana creates an unnecessary
self which can be easily dealt with by using wisdom and practice. Being
selfish, mean and the like extends that fundamental self to be even bigger
until it can fit the whole universe at times. When this happens, people become
totally blind. They cannot see anything else but themselves. If one third of a
single strand of hair is far too big to go through the entrance to eternity,
how on earth can an egocentric person manage it? It is impossible. This self
extension is totally unnecessary and can be avoided even at this stage.
Even
the most humble person on earth has a sense of self or ego, unless he or she is
a Pra Arahant. Only a Pra Arahant who lives permanently in the innocent world
does not have a sense of self. That's why there are only a few people who can
be qualified to walk this path. According to the Buddha, there are more people
who are willing to run around the realm of samsara or the cycle of rebirth and
there are only a handful of people who want to reach Nirvana. You could be one
of them if you can pass this requirement.
This
following story, which is not far from the true picture we have in the world
nowadays, can help you to realise how difficult it is to be qualified to walk
the path. Even though you think you want to walk it, it doesn't mean you can be
qualified right away.
There
was a time when Christ was preaching the word of God, when he was approached by
a merchant with all his caravans of goods.
"What
must I do if I want to enter the kingdom of God?" the merchant asked.
"You
must love God more than anything else," answered Christ.
"I
have already loved God more than anything else. What must I do next?" the
merchant pursued.
"If
so, you must learn to love your enemy and your neighbours just like you love
yourself," answered Christ.
"I
have also done that. Please do tell me what else is left that I can do if I
want to go to the kingdom of God," the merchant insisted.
Christ
looked at the merchant in the eyes and said firmly:
"If
you have done all those things, you must leave behind all your possessions and
follow me."
The
merchant paused for a while, he then turned his camel round and walked away
without saying a word. Then Christ said:
"It
is easier to push a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go
to the kingdom of God."
The
Buddha said exactly the same thing. He said:
"It
is easier to push an elephant through a needle hole than for a rich person to
enter Nirvana."
If
you seriously want to walk the path, you must first of all narrow or make
smaller the size of your ego. Giving, hospitality, generosity and kindness are
the qualities that can counteract selfishness, stinginess, self-centredness and
so on. That's why I make giving one of the requirements for you who want to
walk the path. It will be easier for your mind journey if your ego is small to
begin with. There is still a lot more work to do later on in terms of taking
away the more subtle and refined ego which requires wisdom to detect.
The
good news is that giving and generosity are qualities that can be trained and
cultivated. It is like bending a metal spoon. At first, it is very hard to
bend, which can be compared to the agonising feeling when you have to give
something away. There is a lot of resistance at first. Nevertheless, if you
keep on bending the spoon, the resistance will become less and less, which can
be compared to the less painful feeling when you have to give. In the end the
spoon will break in half which means you won't feel anything anymore whenever
you give. That is very good indeed. This whole process is about taking away
your ego bit by bit which will help you splendidly as far as walking the great
path is concerned.
1) Get rid of rubbish first! If you have
never had the habit of giving before and find it very difficult to give even
the things that you don't need, you can begin your giving habit from there.
Look into your cupboard, wardrobe, pantry and garage, if there is anything that
you don't need and will never use and they are still in good condition, give
them to a charity shop or people whom you know and who need them. Never give
anything that is too old and too damaged to people. Throw them away.
2) Give away the less significant
things! You might be the type of
person who always gets rid of the rubbish in your house but you still find it
difficult to give away things that are in good condition even though they have
less significance for you. You can either give to the charity shop or to
someone who might need and appreciate them. You might find that you have to
bargain with your resistant thoughts and feelings. Be decisive, once you put
that object in a bag, don't open it again until you give it away.
3) Give away the more significant things!
This kind of giving requires a great deal of courage and bravery. It is quite
normal for people to keep the best for themselves. The term 'best' could mean a
valuable item in terms of money or being sentimental or something you simply
like most even though it doesn't have much value. Find an expensive item that
once again you no longer use but still want to cling to its value, and find a
suitable place or person so that you can give that thing away. It will be more
painful to part from that object. Be strong and courageous. If you succeed in
doing it, it will take a big chunk of your ego away. However, if that item has
very high sentimental value, and is not a photograph, pass it on to your
children if you have any and don't ask what they will do with it. If you don't
have children, find a good place for it.
4) Entertain your guests with the best
food in the house. Don't tuck away any good food in your fridge or freezer so
that you can have it for yourself. Bring them out and offer them to your
guests.
5) If you have a very comfortable life and
never have to worry about money, it means that you are able to give away your
excess more than those who don't have much. Don't leave too much money behind
in your will unless they are properties. You cannot take money with you when
you die. You came to this world naked, you also have to leave this world naked.
Remember that it is much nicer to be able to give and enjoy seeing the happy
faces of those who need your help while you are very much alive. They can be
your family members, relatives, close friends, neighbours or even a maid, a
cook or a caretaker you know at work. Help them out when they are in trouble.
Your reward is to see their happy face and appreciation now.
6) Give money to charity from time to time
according to your capability. One man might give just £1 to charity and another
man might give £1000 to his favourite charity. You might think that the latter
man is more charitable compared to the first one. That is not always the case.
The first man might happen to be more generous than the latter if he earns
£2.50 per hour and has three children and a wife to look after whilst the other
man earns up to £1000 per hour and is listed as one of the richest in the
country. The Chinese have a saying that 'Never say one penny is less and ten
thousand is more'. That is because when it comes to giving, the result is the
same. One penny from a beggar and ten thousand from a rich merchant, once they
are given away, the result is the same. It has taken away a chunk of ego from
the hearts of both persons in the same way, no more and no less.
7) Never be too stingy with your own
parents. While they are still alive, make their lives comfortable for them,
look after them well in whatever way you can. Treating your parents well is the
best giving you can ever do. They are a field of merit (boon). Grow your merit
tree on your parents, it can help take away a big chunk of ego.
8) If you live in a Buddhist country, you
will be quite lucky to be able to give daily when monks come for alms.
9) Always find a way to give, if not
materially, it can be your labour, ears or time. Giving your ears, time and
patience to people who need to talk is quite important nowadays. This is also
the best way of giving when you don't have much money or material to help
others. Chunks of selfishness can be taken away in this manner.
10) Once you have given anything away no matter whether it was
material, money, labour or time, don't keep on bringing it up with others. Even
when it enters your mind and you begin to feel proud, be aware of such feelings
and let them go. Don't keep on licking your ego even though no one knows about
it.
All
the above are something that you can do to train your sense of giving. You
might be able to think of something else that you can do to take away more of
your ego: do it without any hesitation. The more giving you do, the more ego is
taken away. At first, you might find it hard especially if you are on the
selfish side by nature. You might have to haggle with your thoughts and
feelings at first. Please keep on reminding yourself about the ultimate goal
you can achieve and encourage yourself to give a bit more every time.
Gradually, your resistance will become less and you will feel less painful when
you give. When you can do the
above as well as you can, you will definitely shred away a great deal of your
unrefined ego and self-importance. As a result, your ego becomes smaller and
narrower and it will be easier for you to enter into the kingdom of God.
Although
this requirement is not a must, it will certainly help you to be more ready to
walk the path.
I
heard this story from the late teacher, Tang Mor Sieng. Being tight-fisted can
haunt you to your deathbed. You will certainly bring this bad quality with you
after you die. It needs to be corrected right now when you are alive.
Once
there was a Chinese man who had a wife and two sons. He owned a pawn shop and gave out loans with high interest.
His livelihood had made him very rich but very infamous among his relatives and
customers. He hardly had anyone whom he could proudly call friend. People knew that he was extremely
stingy and mean to everyone, even to his wife and sons. Although he had enough
money to last him for a lifetime, he wouldn't spend it unless for really good
reasons. All the expense in the household was carefully budgeted. They ate only
cheap food. Although they had a big house and rooms, only one light was allowed
to be turned on at a time. They perpetually lived in a very gloomy and
depressing atmosphere.
When
his two sons reached the right age to get married, he tried to find brides
through matchmakers but the arrangements often fell through one after another.
He couldn't agree on the requested dowry from the woman's side. Deep down he
was prepared to give next to nothing away. Those who knew his tight-fisted
reputation did not wish to relate with him anyway. He often moaned to his wife
who was rather fed up by her husband's meanness but didn't know what to do.
"They
are too greedy. I am not going to give them that much money. I am sure there
are other families who can appreciate what I offer. No...I am not going to pay
them. I'll wait. Too greedy...too greedy" he shook his head slowly from
side to side while he was moaning.
A
few years went by and he was more worried for his sons' future. However, he
couldn't see that it was his selfishness which caused his distress. Finally, he
was taken ill and he did not recover from his illness. It reached the point
that he couldn't talk anymore.
On
the last day of his life his servant, who had served this household for many
years, was feeding him some water, but he refused to take it. For some reason,
he kept on sticking his two fingers up. The servant quickly fetched the
mistress to see her husband, assuming that the master might want to say
something before he died. The wife came and sat by her husband's bed. The old
and dying man looked at his wife and raised his two fingers again.
"Don't
worry about our two sons. Although they are not married, they are adults now,
they can look after themselves. After all, you have left a lot of money for
them. You must not worry."
The
wife gently consoled her dying husband. To her surprise, her husband's face
turned red and angry. He tried to say something but there were no words coming
out. He still stuck his two fingers up and pointed upward. Whilst the wife was
in bewilderment and tried to work out what her husband was trying to tell her,
the old servant, who was standing nearby, suddenly grasped the meaning of the
two fingers. She quickly walked to the corner of the room and switched off one
light bulb. No sooner than the one light went off, did the wife see the great
relief in her husband's face. Then, he died.
I
also heard this story from the late teacher, Tang Mor Sieng.
Once
there was an old master who lived with his young disciple in a temple. One day,
the old monk had to go out early to see someone in the nearby village. Having
practised meditation until he had gained super-knowledge, the master could
foresee the future. Before he left the temple, he told his young novice:
"You guard the temple well today since a noble and rich lady will
come to offer alms. You must make her feel welcome. I will come back late
afternoon."
"Yes, master. I will mind the temple and look out for the rich
lady."
The
young disciple bowed his head successively a few times to his master as a
gesture of understanding the master's order. He was pleased to hear that a rich
and noble lady would come to offer alms. It meant that he would have a
delicious meal to look forward to. He was very happy and spent that morning
looked out for her. Whilst he was sweeping the temple yard, his mind was
thinking of the glorious food he was about to be offered later in a couple
hours' time. Once in a while, he walked to the temple's gate, and stretched his
neck to look for anyone who walked by.
In
the meantime, in the nearby village there was an old lady who was very poor but
kind-hearted. It was her birthday and she wanted to give alms to the monks.
Being very poor, she had no money to buy food for an offering. She decided to
go into the rice field early in the morning and picked all the grains scattered
around the field. Some grains were damaged, broken and dirty. She spent a lot
of time picking the grains. She brought them home and decided to cook a bowl of
rice porridge. Adding a bit more water to the rice would help to increase the
quantity of it.
"This should look
enough to offer to the two monks at the temple."
The
old lady talked to herself proudly while she was looking at the bowl of
porridge in her hand. She was very happy that she could at last cerebrate her
birthday by giving alms to the monks. She slowly walked to the temple and
carefully held the bowl of rice with her two hands.
When
she reached the temple gate, she could see the young novice stretching his neck
looking past her as if he was trying to find someone in the distance. It was
only fifteen minutes before the offering time ended. (Monks are not supposed to
eat after midday). It was obvious to the old lady that the young monk looked a
bit impatient and restless. She approached the young novice who still did not
pay much attention to her and said gently with a smile:
"Is the
old master in? Could you please let him know that I have come to offer alms
today because it is my birthday."
The
disciple then looked at the old lady with a bowl of rice porridge in her hand.
The bowl was not covered and by the time it reached the temple, bits of dirt
and small leaves had fallen into the bowl and mixed with some floating damaged
rice on the surface of the water. It looked rather unappetising to the young
monk especially as he had been looking forward to the glorious and delicious
food from a rich lady as he was told. Having waited all morning for someone who
had not turned up, the young monk became more and more agitated and restless
when it dawned on him that he might have to eat this bowl of porridge if the
rich lady did not turn up in that short time. He answered the old lady with his
abrasive tone of voice.
"No, the
old master left early this morning. He won't be back till late afternoon."
The
old lady felt unwelcome and was taken aback by the monk's unexpected reaction.
However, she thought that it was still all right if the young monk accepted her
offering instead. So, she said:
"If so, could you please accept my offering then since it is my
birthday. I intended to make merit so that I could be rich in my next
life."
The
monk could not refuse the offering from the old lady. He reluctantly told the
lady to follow him to the shrine room where the offering would take place. He
couldn't help casting another look towards the path leading to the temple gate
with a glimpse of hope that the rich lady might turn up, but there was still no
sign of the noble lady and no glorious food. The time for offering was nearly
up, his hope of having good food was gone. The young monk was very disappointed
and annoyed that he had to have the dirty rice porridge for his meal today
instead of some well prepared mouth-watering food.
The
novice's impatience turned into resentment and anger. No sooner had the old
lady walked towards the temple gate, than the monk came out from the shrine
room and threw away the whole bowl of porridge on the temple ground for birds.
It was the same moment when the old lady happened to turn round. She was
stunned, shocked and very hurt by the monk's outburst. With her noble intention
in doing merit brutally destroyed, the old lady stood trembling with anger by
the temple gate and shouted at the monk.
"How could you? How could you throw away my offering? That's it.
From now on, I will have nothing to do with monks anymore."
The
old lady never did another offering and never set her foot in the temple again.
She condemned and cursed the monk openly to people. She died a few days after
and took with her the bitterness and the anger that she was badly treated by
the monk.
Meanwhile,
the old master came back to the temple that afternoon. The first question he
asked was:
"Well,
did the noble and rich lady come today for the offering?"
The
novice was still very annoyed and disappointed because he had missed having a
delicious meal as he had expected. He answered the master with his grumpy face.
"What
do you mean by rich and noble lady? I'd been waiting all morning but no one
turned up except this old lady with a bowl of leftover porridge which looked
most unappetising. I didn't even bother to eat it. I threw it away for birds
instead."
The
master could not believe what he had heard and exclaimed:
"Oh...Buddha helps! You don't realise what you have just done to
this old lady. When I said that there would be a rich and noble lady coming to
give alms, I meant this poor old lady. She was rich and noble because she was
very kind, generous and tried her best to give alms despite her poverty. She
had spent all morning picking each grain of rice from the field just to cook
that bowl of rice porridge for us. You have brutally turned her generosity
away."
The
young monk was shocked by the master's speech. He felt very ashamed and guilty
of his unforgivable behaviour. He asked his master what would happen to him and
the old lady. The master paused for a while and sadly said:
" Well,
what will happen is that this old lady who will die in a few days will be born
rich in her next life because she had done her merit. But the anger she had
towards you will make her do more bad kamma towards the triple gem. You will
become her son in your future life time and you are going to help her when she
goes to hell."
In
one life, this old lady was born into a rich family and she was married to a
rich man who was a devout Buddhist but died before he could reach old age. With
the bitterness and anger she took with her from her previous life, the wife was
very angry that her husband did not live long despite being a good Buddhist.
She did more bad kamma by insulting the triple gem, had no respect for monks
and did not give alms.
It
had now reached the time of the Buddha Gotama. The young novice, however, came
to be born as Pra maha Moggallana, the Buddha's left hand disciple who was the
best in performing miracles. After his mother had died, he went to heaven and
hell to find out where his mother was. He found his mother being born as a
hungry ghost in hell. He quickly performed a miracle and gave his mother a bowl
of rice and water. In not wanting to share the food with anyone, the hungry
ghost accepted the bowl, putting her arms and hands over it so that she could
have the food all by herself. Suddenly, the food turned into red charcoal and
she was unable to eat it. Pra maha Moggallana tried again and the same event
happened endlessly. He quickly came back to ask the Buddha how he could rescue
his mother from hell. The Buddha advised him to give alms to monks in four
directions and ask the monks to share the merit with his mother. He quickly did
so. Through the merit that Pra maha Moggallana had sent to his mother in hell
she was born in heaven after that.
I
wrote this story down exactly in the way that it was told by the late teacher
Tang Mor Seing. It was based on the Mahayana Buddhism. The teacher concluded
that the significance of the half year festival in the middle of the seventh
month celebrated widely among the Chinese is based on this story when Pra maha
Moggallana wanted to help his mother escape from hell. Millions of Chinese
would cook a variety of dishes and offer them to hungry spirits.
This
is also another story told by teacher Tang Mor Seing. It is relevant to the
topic I have talked about in this chapter, so I would like to share it with
you.
Indian
society has a very narrow band of middle class; people are either very rich or
very poor. Once, there was a millionaire who owned a very big house with a
fleet of servants. Unfortunately, no one liked him at all. Not to mention the
entire servants in the household, even his wife and children loathed him.
Indeed, he was a misery and a tight-fisted man. His selfishness gained him no
popularity at all even though he had so much wealth. Gossiping about the
meanness of the master was a pastime enjoyed by the servants and people in the
neighbourhood. Although he had a proper name everyone called him 'the mean
master'. Whilst other millionaires would set up dana shelters and fed hundreds
of beggars every day, the mean master had no intention of doing so. Most
beggars knew about his selfish reputation and often walked past this rich
household without bothering to beg.
The
great King Sakka or Indra was the supreme leader of the heavenly beings called
Tavatimsa - the realm of the Thirty-three gods. He often looked over the events
on earth and put the world to rights. One day, he thought that he would correct
the character of the mean master. He then came down to earth. By using his
heavenly power, he made himself look exactly like the mean master. It was the
day of a festival. Everyone dressed up in their best clothes and went to the
fair except the members of this rich household. They not only had no best
clothes to wear like others but also had no extra money to spend at the fair.
Life went on like a normal miserable day. However, the mean master went to the
fair by himself without asking his wife and children for fear that he would
have to pay extra for everything they might want to buy at the fair. He took
with him a few loose coins. He went through nearly every food stall in the fair
and could not decide what he would have to make spending his money really
worthwhile. However, he had soft spot for sweets, and his mouth watered
terribly when he stood by a stall watching a man making all the colourful candy
floss. It suited him right to the ground because that was one of the cheapest
sweets they sold in the fair and he didn't mind paying just two coppers for
something he really enjoyed eating. He walked around with the candy floss in
his hand and ate with relish.
"I
must be the luckiest millionaire in town to be able to walk around in this fair
and eat the most delicious candy floss."
The
mean master smiled while he was talking to himself. His selfishness allowed him
to see only what he wanted to see and nothing else.
No
sooner had the mean master left the house, than King Sakka arrived at the
entrance appearing exactly the same as the master of the house. He walked into
the house with a smiling face and greeted all the servants with kindness and
warm heartedness. Everyone was shocked, stunned and could not believe that this
jolly kind man was the mean master. That was because the mean master never
smiled and he only shouted for the servants when he wanted something. At first,
they thought that it was the mean master's twin brother. The great deity knew
exactly what was going through everyone's mind. He called everyone to gather
around the front yard and said:
"Don't
worry, I know what you are thinking. Today is an auspicious day and I have
decided to be a changed man. From now on, I will be kind and generous to every
one of you. Soon, you will call me the kind master instead of the mean master.
So, right now, I want every one of you to have a day off and go enjoy yourself
at the fair. But before you go, I want you to help yourself to some new
clothes. I have plenty of new clothes tucked away in the back room. Go and help
yourself. You will also have some money to spend at the fair. Raju, my head
servant, will hand out money for you before you leave."
No
sooner did his speech end, than the thundering sound of cheers and joy burst
out from all the members in the household. Everyone greeted the good news with
great joy, delight and elation. Suddenly, the whole house was filled with smiles,
joy, and happiness. People began to sing, dance and tease one another whilst
they went to choose their new clothes and prepared to leave for the fair.
The
great heavenly being in human form then turned to the wife and children who
were still in shock and could not believe the whole situation and said:
"Now,
I know that you always want to give dana to the poor and beggars. Why don't you
do it today? You know where everything is. Just help yourself to whatever you
want to give away. You don't have to ask me. Just do it."
The
wife and children bent down to touch the feet of the husband and father as a
gesture of respect, not knowing that it was the great Indra from heaven. Then,
they went off to do exactly what a millionaire was supposed to do - giving dana
to the poor and beggars. With the help of the children and a few servants, they
managed to give food, clothes and money to the poor and the beggars in the
neighbourhood. The news quickly spread and soon there was a long queue waiting.
In
the mean time, while the mean master was enjoying himself at the fair, he was
greeted so happily by some of his servants who had just arrived. Some of them
even bent down to touch his feet and say thank you. The mean master was very
surprised by his servants' behaviour because no one in the household ever
greeted him with a smile let alone giving him such high respect. He could not
understand what made them so very happy. Then, he suddenly spotted that all the
servants who came to greet him had brand new clothes and some money with them
to spend. He began to get suspicious and knew the only way to find out was to
go home.
As
he turned round the corner of the road which would lead up to his house, he saw
a long queue of beggars lining up. When he stretched his neck up trying to see
where the queue came from, he was quite sure that there was a big crowd of
people right at the main gate of his house. Fear quickly set in his heart and
he couldn't imagine what was happening in his household especially to all his wealth. He could hear his own heart beating
like a drum at high speed. He ran straight to his house, used his hands pushing
people away so that he could get through to the main gate.
The
mean master was frozen by the picture he saw right in front of him. His mouth
and eyes were wide open. He couldn't speak and was in deep shock. What he saw
was the picture of his smiling wife, children and a few servants busy handing
out food, clothes and money to the poor. Then suddenly, the mean master burst
out with a big shout:
"Stop,
Stop, everyone stop."
His
face was red and filled with anger. Then, silence began to spread from that
small area to the outer circle. Everyone stared at the mean master and tried to
understand the situation. Suddenly, the great heavenly being, Indra, appeared
right in the middle of the crowd before anyone could say anything. The king of
the heaven still appeared to look the same as the mean master. Indeed, both of
them were standing facing each other. The silence went even deeper when the
crowd saw the two men who looked exactly the same. Indra finally broke the
silence and said:
"I
am Indra, the great king of Tavatimsa - the realm of the Thirty-three gods. I
came down from heaven today to give this mean man a lesson. The reputation of
your selfishness and stinginess had reached heaven and made my seat hot. That's
why I had to come down to sort you out."
No
sooner had his words finished, than his body transformed into the most
magnificent and glorious man who was every inch a divine being. The crowd
cheered with a thundering sound, then stopped suddenly and everyone was down on
their knees including the mean master who was shaking with fear.
The
great king looked at the shaken mean master and continued:
"I
know that your fear of losing your wealth right now is much greater than your
fear of me. You are a despicable person. Your selfishness had made everyone
loathe you. I wanted you to have a taste of being liked, loved and having
respect from others which are something you never had because you love your
money too much."
The
mean master began to recall the feeling he encountered briefly at the fair when
his servants came to greet him with happiness and touched his feet. Although he
was bewildered by the situation, he had to admit that it was indeed a very good
feeling knowing that someone liked him and had respect for him. The words of
the great king hit him right in his heart. He began to see how miserable he
was. Judging from the happy faces of his wife and children when they were giving
dana a while ago made him realise how much his family had to put up with his
meanness and selfishness. He then pathetically crawled a few inches to the
great king, placing his hands on the divinity's feet, head down and face
touching the ground. Suddenly he was taken over by the fear of death. He spoke
with a trembling voice to the holy man:
"Please
forgive me, please do forgive me. I promise I will change. I will have a change
of heart from now on. I promise. Please don't take my life away. I will be a
good millionaire and give dana everyday."
The
great king of Tavatimsa was pleased to hear the answer from the mean master who
was about to have a change of heart. He then said:
"Good,
that is what I want to hear and you'd better make sure that you keep up with
your promise. Otherwise, I'll be back! By the way, don't worry. All the
clothes, food and money that these people had today are not yours, they are all
mine."
Right
at that instant, the great king of Tavatimsa disappeared into thin air along with
all the clothes, food and money which were waiting to be handed out earlier.
The mean master stood up and took over the situation. He proclaimed loudly to
the crowd:
"Please
wait for a moment. I will bring you more clothes, food and money."
The
crowd cheered with great joy. The mean master disappeared into his house. A
short while later, he came out again with a row of his servants who carried
food and fine clothes. He himself carried with him a great big bowl of coins.
From
then on, the kind master, which was his new name, regularly gave dana to the
poor. He became well loved and respected by his family, servants and people. He
had never had another visit from the great king again.