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A Busy Life
A young businessman went to a village. He was drawn to a shepherd, sitting under a tree playing a flute. There were a couple of cows grazing in the field nearby. The businessman asked the shepherd how long he spent grazing cows. The shepherd replied that he just did this for a few hours everyday.
The businessman asked why he did not buy more cows. The shepherd replied he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The businessman then asked the shepherd how he spent the rest of his time.
The shepherd said, "I go home, eat lunch with my wife, take a nap, play with the children when they come home from school, go to the Upäshray and listen to religious discourses and meditate. After supper with the family I relax and play flute with my friends. I have a full and busy life, Sir."
The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I can help you. You should bring the whole village's cows for grazing and charge money for it. With this money you should buy more cows and supply milk to the neighboring villages. Eventually you can start your own dairy and supply to the whole state."
"You would need to leave this small village and move to a city and eventually to Mumbai where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The shepherd asked, "But sir, how long will this all take?" To which the businessman replied, "15-20 years."
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"But what then, Sir?" asked the shepherd. The businessman laughed and said, "That's the best part! When the time is right you would go public and sell your company stocks to the public. You'll become very rich, you would make millions!"
"Millions, Sir?" questioned the shepherd. "Then what?" The businessman said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small quiet place like this where you can just lie around and play your flute, eat lunch with your wife, take a nap in the afternoon, play with your kids, spend time on religion and around your friends every night."
The shepherd smiled and inquired, "How is it any different from what I am doing now?"
One has to stand back and think of what one would like to do with life. True happiness comes not from having more but being content with what one has.
A person who is free from delusion (who understands reality), has no misery. A person who is without any longing has no delusion. A person without greed has no longing. A person who does not have any attachment has no greed
- Uttaradhyayan Sutra
THE FIRST STEP OF JAINISM
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