Glory Of The Mindful Increases
The Story of Kumbhaghosaka, the Banker
Chapter 2: Heedfulness • Verse 4
The Story of Kumbhaghosaka, the Banker
Chapter 2: Heedfulness • Verse 4
Ever grows the glory of him who is energetic, mindful and pure in conduct, discerning and self-controlled, righteous and heedful.
Residing at the Veluvana Monastery, the Buddha spoke this verse with reference to Kumbhaghosaka, the banker.
At one time a plague epidemic broke out in the city of Rajagaha. In the house of the city banker, the servants died of the disease, and the banker and his wife were also struck down.
When they fell ill, they told their young son Kumbhaghosaka to flee the house and return only after a long time, and they told him where they had buried a treasure of great worth.
The son left the city and stayed in a forest for twelve years before returning, by which time he had grown into a youth nobody recognized.
He went to the place where the treasure was hidden and found it intact. But he reasoned that since no one could identify him, unearthing and using the treasure might make people suspect a poor young man had stumbled upon buried wealth, and report it to the king, who could then confiscate his property and have him imprisoned. So he decided it was not yet time to dig it up, and that he must find work to live on.
Dressed in old clothes, Kumbhaghosaka found work waking people early each morning and announcing that it was time to prepare food and yoke the bullocks.
One morning, King Bimbisara heard his voice and, being a keen judge of voices, remarked that it was the voice of a man of great wealth. A maid who heard this sent someone to investigate, but was told the youth was only a hired labourer. The king repeated the same remark on two more days, and each investigation returned the same result.
Thinking this strange, the maid asked the king's permission to investigate personally. Disguised as ordinary travellers, she and her daughter sought shelter for the night in Kumbhaghosaka's house, and then managed to prolong their stay.
During this time, the king twice proclaimed a ceremony requiring every household in the labourers' locality to contribute. With no ready cash, Kumbhaghosaka was forced to take gold coins from his hidden treasure. As these were handed to the maid for the contribution, she secretly substituted her own money and sent his coins to the king.
After some time, she sent word to the king to summon Kumbhaghosaka to the court. He went reluctantly, while the maid and her daughter went ahead to the palace.
At the palace, the king told Kumbhaghosaka to speak the truth and assured him he would not be harmed. He then admitted that the gold coins were his, that he was the son of the city banker of Rajagaha who had died in the plague twelve years before, and he revealed where the rest of the treasure was buried.
The buried treasure was brought to the palace, and the king made him a banker and gave him his daughter in marriage. Afterward, the king took Kumbhaghosaka to the Buddha at the Veluvana Monastery and told him how the youth, though rich, had been earning his living as a hired labourer, and how he had now made him a banker.
The Story of Kumbhaghosaka, the Banker
Chapter 2: Heedfulness • Verse 4
Ever grows the glory of him who is energetic, mindful and pure in conduct, discerning and self-controlled, righteous and heedful.
Residing at the Veluvana Monastery, the Buddha spoke this verse with reference to Kumbhaghosaka, the banker.
At one time a plague epidemic broke out in the city of Rajagaha. In the house of the city banker, the servants died of the disease, and the banker and his wife were also struck down.
When they fell ill, they told their young son Kumbhaghosaka to flee the house and return only after a long time, and they told him where they had buried a treasure of great worth.
The son left the city and stayed in a forest for twelve years before returning, by which time he had grown into a youth nobody recognized.
He went to the place where the treasure was hidden and found it intact. But he reasoned that since no one could identify him, unearthing and using the treasure might make people suspect a poor young man had stumbled upon buried wealth, and report it to the king, who could then confiscate his property and have him imprisoned. So he decided it was not yet time to dig it up, and that he must find work to live on.
Dressed in old clothes, Kumbhaghosaka found work waking people early each morning and announcing that it was time to prepare food and yoke the bullocks.
One morning, King Bimbisara heard his voice and, being a keen judge of voices, remarked that it was the voice of a man of great wealth. A maid who heard this sent someone to investigate, but was told the youth was only a hired labourer. The king repeated the same remark on two more days, and each investigation returned the same result.
Thinking this strange, the maid asked the king's permission to investigate personally. Disguised as ordinary travellers, she and her daughter sought shelter for the night in Kumbhaghosaka's house, and then managed to prolong their stay.
During this time, the king twice proclaimed a ceremony requiring every household in the labourers' locality to contribute. With no ready cash, Kumbhaghosaka was forced to take gold coins from his hidden treasure. As these were handed to the maid for the contribution, she secretly substituted her own money and sent his coins to the king.
After some time, she sent word to the king to summon Kumbhaghosaka to the court. He went reluctantly, while the maid and her daughter went ahead to the palace.
At the palace, the king told Kumbhaghosaka to speak the truth and assured him he would not be harmed. He then admitted that the gold coins were his, that he was the son of the city banker of Rajagaha who had died in the plague twelve years before, and he revealed where the rest of the treasure was buried.
The buried treasure was brought to the palace, and the king made him a banker and gave him his daughter in marriage. Afterward, the king took Kumbhaghosaka to the Buddha at the Veluvana Monastery and told him how the youth, though rich, had been earning his living as a hired labourer, and how he had now made him a banker.