The Curse of Mittavinda (Chapter 1. Jealousy)

　　Once upon a time, there was a monk who lived in a tiny monastery in a little village. He was very fortunate that the village rich man supported him in the monastery. He never had to worry about the cares of the world. His alms food was always provided automatically by the rich man.

　　So the monk was calm and peaceful in his mind. There was no fear of losing his comfort and his daily food. There was no desire for greater comforts and pleasures of the world. Instead, he was free to practice the correct conduct of a monk, always trying to eliminate his faults and do only wholesome deeds. But he didn”t know just how lucky he was!

　　One day an elder monk arrived in the little village. He had followed the path of Truth until he had become perfect and faultless.

　　When the village rich man saw this unknown monk, he was very pleased by his gentle manner and his calm attitude. So he invited him into his home. He gave him food to eat, and he thought himself very fortunate to hear a short teaching from him. He then invited him to take shelter at the village monastery. He said, "I will visit you there this evening, to make sure all is well."

　　When the perfect monk arrived at the monastery, he met the village monk. They greeted each other pleasantly. Then the village monk asked, "Have you had your lunch today

　　" The other replied, "Yes, I was given lunch by the supporter of this monastery. He also invited me to take shelter here."

　　The village monk took him to a room and left him there. The perfect monk passed his time in meditation.

　　Later that evening, the village rich man came. He brought fruit drinks, flowers and lamp oil, in honor of the visiting holy man. He asked the village monk, "Where is our guest

　　" He told him what room he had given him.

　　The man went to the room, bowed respectfully, and greeted the perfect monk. Again he appreciated hearing the way of Truth as taught by the rare faultless one.

　　Afterwards, as evening approached, he lit the lamps and offered the flowers at the monastery”s lovely temple shrine. He invited both monks to lunch at his home the next day. Then he left and returned home.

　　In the evening, a terrible thing happened. The village monk, who had been so contented, allowed the poison of jealousy to creep into his mind. He thought, "The village rich man has made it easy for me here. He provides shelter each night and fills my belly once a day.

　　"But I”m afraid this will change because he respects this new monk so highly. If he remains in this monastery, my supporter may stop caring for me. Therefore, I must make sure the new monk does not stay."

　　Thinking in this way, he lost his former mental calm. His mind became disturbed due to his jealousy - the fear of losing his comfort and his daily food. This led to the added mental pain of resentment against the perfect monk. He began plotting and scheming to get rid of him.

　　Late that night, as was the custom, the monks met together to end the day. The perfect monk spoke in his usual friendly way, but the village monk would not speak to him at all.

　　So the wise monk understood that he was jealous and resentful. He thought, ”This monk does not understand my freedom from attachment to families, people and comforts. I am free of any desire to remain here. I am also free of any desire to leave here. It makes no difference. It is sad this other one cannot understand non-attachment. I pity him for the price he must pay for his ignorance."

　　He returned to his room, closed the door. and meditated in a high mental state throughout the night.

　　The next day, when it was time to go collect alms food from the supporter of the monastery, the village monk rang the temple gong. But he rang it by tapping it lightly with his finger nail. Even t…

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