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 can 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 of those sins by offering this gold 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 young, but now I am regreting for that and want to give charity. You are a holy Brahmin, so I have decided to give this bracelet to you. Go and take a bath in the lake and then come back for the bracelet.
The Brahmin could no longer resist the temptation. He went to the lake, but it was full of mud. As soon as the Brahmin went in, he got stuck in the mud. The lion saw this and went to the lake. He bit the greedy Brahmin’s the neck. The Brahmin started to scream, but there was no one there to help him.
Because of his greed, the Brahmin lost his life. If he would have overcome his temptation, he would not have lost his life. Unfortunately when people get greedy, they lose good judgment. We must be careful not to get carried away by greed. This can be done by limiting on our possessions and desires.
