story of a greedy cobbler

Once upon a time, Gautam Buddha ji was staying in a village in Magadha state. A cobbler lived with his family a little outside the village. There was a pond near that cobbler's house. One day, as usual, in the morning the cobbler went to the pond bank to fetch water. There he saw a very wonderful flower in the pond. That flower was very beautiful to look at, and also seemed miraculous. The cobbler immediately called his wife and showed her the flower. The cobbler's wife was spiritual and believed in religion. As soon as she saw the flower, she understood that Gautam Buddha must have passed by here yesterday, this flower has bloomed due to his glory.

Believing the flower to be miraculous, the cobbler made a plan. He told his wife about his plan that he would give this flower to the king and take a lot of gold coins from him. His wife also thought that this flower was of no use to them. Give it to the king, at least you will earn some money. After his wife's consent, the cobbler left for the palace. On his way to the royal palace, he meets a businessman and stops after seeing a flower in the cobbler's hand. He asks the cobbler, brother, where are you going with these flowers? The cobbler says that I am going to the king with this flower. By presenting this to the king, I will get the reward I asked for from the king. The merchant proposed to the cobbler that you give me this flower and in return, I will give you 100 gold coins. The cobbler was deep in thought. He thought that when the merchant was giving 100 gold coins for this flower, the king would give more. Thinking this, he refused to give flowers to the businessman. As he walked a little further, he saw a king coming on the way who was going to see Gautam Buddha. The king was also astonished to see the divine flower in the cobbler's hand. The king asked the cobbler to give him 1000 gold coins in exchange for the flower. On hearing this, a strange consciousness came to the cobbler's mind. And without giving flowers to the king, he ran straight to Mahatma Buddha. Mahatma Buddha was surprised to see the cobbler. When he asked the cobbler, the cobbler told him the whole story. After this, the cobbler offered that flower at the feet of Mahatma Gautam Buddha and told him that at first I had become greedy after seeing the flower. But now I have understood that if I go under the shelter of the one whose shadow makes a flower so divine, then my life will also become blessed. After this he remained a disciple of Mahatma Gautam Buddha throughout his life.

Learning from the story:

This story taught us that many things attract us in our life, but we should not get trapped in their greed and should use our knowledge to choose the right path in life.

This story of Gautam Buddha tells us how important it can be to forget one's knowledge and morality in the greed for money. As a cobbler, we are often seen wandering in the midst of our desires and greed. The religious vision of his wife teaches us that we should perform our duties, whether small or big. In the end, the cobbler's decision and his meditation inspire him to turn towards religion and spirituality. We can make our life meaningful by walking on the path of knowledge and not by running after money.