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145:
śramaņa, Vol 55, No. 1-6/January-June 2004
three parables to illustrate the simplicity and crookedness as also the cleverness and dullness of the ascetics of these times. They are as follows:
The first parable that illustrates the simplicity of the monks of the traditions of the first twenty-three Tirthankaras goes like this - "Once a disciple went to beg for alms. He got thirty-two hot balls as alms. He thought that the guru was certainly going to give him sixteen balls so why not eat then while they - were still hot and ate them. After some time he again thought that out of the remaining sixteen balls, 100, the guru would give him eight and ate them as well. Like this he kept on thinkining and eating the balls until only one was left in the vessel. When he brought and showed only one hot ball to the guru, he enquired as to who was the give that gave only one ball as alms. The simple disciple simply answered that he had got thirty-two balls and narrated the whole incident as it happened. The gucu was some what taken aback and asked him as how he could bring himself to eat all but one ball. The disciple look no time to pop the remaining one ball into his mouth and replied, 'thus' O' Master!".22
Next is the parable that illustrates the Crookedness of the people of the last Tirthankara's time. "A merchant instructed his son not to speak in front of (i.e. not to talk back to) the elders. Once, when the merchant went out of the house, the son locked himself in and wouldn't reply to the merchant's call for opening the door. On entering the house by breaking the lock the-merchant asked the son as to why he did not reply, the son promptly told him that he only had instructed him not to speak in front of the elders. "23
The third parable that illustrates the wisdom of the ascetics of the times of the twenty-two Tirtharkaras from Ajitnātha to Pārsvanātha or clever crookedness of the ascetics of the time of the last Tirthankara is like this - "Once a disciple went to beg for alms and was very late in coming back. When enquired by the guru he plainly told him the truth that he had stopped to watch the tricks of a male rope-walker. The guru explained that such indulgence was against the monastic propriety and advised' him not to indulge. in such pursuits in future. The disciple agreed and promised not to repeat the incident. When the disciples went out next a female rope-walker was performing the tricks.. The wise disciples could reason that if watching a male juggler was wrong, more
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