The Greedy Ascetic

A wicked ascetic lived as a guest in the house of rich man. One day the rich man needed to hide a box of gold coins. Thinking that he was a holy man who had renounced all worldly pleasures, the rich man buried the gold coins in the ascetic’s room. But when the rich man left, the wicked ascetic dug up the gold coins and hid them in a bundle of straw. Next day, on the pretext of taking a pilgrimage, the ascetic took the rich man’s leave and left his house with the bundle of straw, saying that he would use it as bedding. After removing the coins, the ascetic returned and handed the bundle to the rich man saying that he would not carry each straw with him that belonged to others. The Bodhisattva, who was reborn as a merchant, saw this and sensing some foul play, asked the rich man to check if his gold coins were safe. Finding the gold coins missing, he declared the ascetic a cheat and got him imprisoned.

The author of this story is unknown and greatly appreciated!