$JES 203 First Step of Jainism Level 2 Book

Author(s): JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

Page 94

GREED/CONTENTMENT
he will never have to worry about earning His entire perspective of the world had money.
changed by then. He fully understood how lead one astray. He reflected, "I came here to attachment and the wildness of greed could Shrävasti to gain knowledge but attachment for Manoramä made me forsake it. That attachment has led me to worry about the future and that in turn led me to get two grains of gold. The kindness of the king inflamed my greed to the extent of desiring the entire kingdom! How insatiable are one's desires? The more a person gets the more he desires. The sense of accumulation knows no limits!"
His thoughts took him from 2 grains of gold to a point where he wanted to ask for the whole kingdom and still wanted more.
Simple as he was the last idea virtually shook him. He thought, "I came here to get two grains of gold and the kindness of the king has led me to the idea of turning him into a beggar. What nonsense! No, this is not fair! At last, the direction of his thoughts changed. He came to his senses and realized that his desires and greed were out of control.
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The fire of greed burning within me will never be extinguished by increasing my desire for wealth and grandeur.
He had a vision of a vulture carrying a piece of food in its beak. All the vultures chased and attacked it. Weakened by the attack. the vulture dropped the food from its beak. The other vultures stopped chasing him and rushed to the fallen food.
He thus realized that desire and attachment do not lead anyone to happiness. He also realized that even though desires are insatiable, they could be controlled by a strong sense of detachment. He fully
THE FIRST STEP OF JAINISM