Jain Lesson II

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

Page 49

Lesson 14 BRAHMIN AND THE BRACELET
Greediness is the desire to get more. Since desires are unending, greedy people desire to gain more and more. Temptation and greediness are evil tendencies and should be avoided. This is a story about a greedy Brahmin.
Once upon a time, there lived a very old lion. He did not have enough strength to get food. He therefore decided to play a trick with the help of a golden bracelet. He thought that if he offered the golden bracelet, he could easily tempt some greedy person to get it and then he could eat him.
While he was thinking about it, he saw a Brahmin passing by. The Brahmin was very poor and was wandering to get food for his family. The lion called the Brahmin, "Revered Brahmin, come here. I have done so many evil things in my life. It is not possible to count how many animals I have killed. Now, I want to get rid of all those sins by offering this golden bracelet to some deserving person. And who else could deserve it more than you?"
The Brahmin soon became greedy for the bracelet. However, he was skeptical about the real intentions of the lion. He said "You have been killing animals and people all your life. How can I trust you?"
The lion said with apparent pain, "Revered Brahmin, I am old now. It is true that I committed many sins when I was
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