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RATNASAR
In the city of Ratnavisala, where reigned King Samar Singha, there lived a merchant named Vasusar. He had a son named Ratnasar. One day, Ratnasar went to his gardenhouse in the company of his peers when his eyes fell on Acharya Vinayandhara who had come there. He went near the Acharya, bowed thrice and raised the following question :
"Holy sire What helps the acquisition of happiness ?" The Acharya said,
not
"As a key to happiness, contentment may be deemed to be unsurpassed. In the absence of contentment, even the king of gods or a universal monarch can be happy; but with contentment, even one sleeping on the bare earth and living on coarse diet may be happy. ContentA homeless ment may be of two types-full and qualified monk has full contentment, but a house-holder's contentment is qualified. (To have it), every house-holder should limit his acquisition."
These words very much inspired Ratnasar who accepted the vows of a sravaka, particularly the vows of equanimity and of limiting acquisition.
One day, Ratnasar came across a Kinnara who had the Ratnasar body of a human being but the face of a horse could not check a smile at his queer shape, and he spoke the following words almost without effort:
"If this be a human being, why does it have the appearance of a horse Surely, he is neither a human being nor a celestial being, but an animal from another land or an animalvehicle for some god."
At these words, the Kinnara felt slighted and said,
J-7
