It is said that in a prosperous city in faraway India, a beggar sat in front of the market exit every morning.
The beggar would sit in lotus blossom and meditate, but only after placing two empty baskets before him.
A small sign on one of the baskets had written, “If you have a good day, thank Universe with a coin.”
On the other one, another sign said, “If you are having a bad day, put a coin in it, and I will pray for you.”
Every day the beggar ended up with two baskets full of coins.
In that place, no one earned more money than him, not even those with craft stalls in the market.
People believed that the beggar brought them luck. And so everyone offered him a coin to keep their joy or overcome their sadness.
One day, some guards seized him at the behest of an envious shopkeeper.
They accused him of swindling. But at the trial, the beggar defended himself by claiming he was not tricking anyone but offering a valuable lesson in exchange for a coin.
The astonished judge asked him what that lesson was. And the beggar said the following.
“Everyone who passes by me is at first allowed to stop and think about how his day is going — and that is already gain. But then, if the person puts a coin in the bowl of bad days, the day usually gets better. Because gestures are powerful, the person sows the seed of goodness with his coin, which always bears fruit. Finally, people give cash in the basket of good days to certify that they are having a good day, and consequently, they sow another seed: the seed of gratitude, which bears fruit.
So, Judge. My baskets are orchards where people plant kindness and gratitude, and that’s not cheating; that’s blessing.”
Not only was the beggar not imprisoned, but he was given a space in the center of the market; after his death, they made a temple where people still leave their coins or, as the beggar would say, “sow their seeds.”
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