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61. THE ASCETIC SILENCED
Once there was an ascetic. He possessed a big silver bowl called Khoraya, of which he was very proud. He also possessed a remarkable memory, he would repeat word for word whatever he heard just once. With great vanity he announced that he would give away his precious silver bowl to any one who could tell him anything of which he had never heard before. No one so far had dared take up that challenge because whatever was told him he always claimed to have heard it before and in order to prove it, he repeated all that verbatim.
A young Jain monk came to know of the ascetic's vow and announced that he would go up to him to tell him of something that he had never heard before. Many people gathered in the king's court where the ascetic and the monk stood facing each other. The Jain monk began, "Your father owed my father nothing less than a hundred thousand gold pieces. If you have heard of this before, I must remind you, you have not repaid the loan. If you have not heard it before, you have lost the bet. Now give me your silver bowl." Thus the ascetic was beaten completely.
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