Once, misfortune fell on Mittavinda’s ship. He was set adrift on a bamboo raft. Soon, he reached a Glass Palace and lived with apsaras (fairies). However, in his greed to gain more wealth, he left them. Finally, Mittavinda reached hell. There, he saw a man with a sharp wheel around his neck. It looked like a large lotus flower. Thinking it to be a lotus blossom, Mittavinda asked the man for it. The wheel of blades started spinning around Mittavinda’s neck and he groaned with pain. Somehow, he managed to get rid of it, and soon he reached an island. There, a goat that was a naraka (demon) kicked him and he landed in Benaras. Here, he was captured by a shepherd. Mittavinda was being taken to the king when he met his teacher, the Bodhisattva. Hearing his story, the Bodhisattva said, “Greed does make you never satisfied. Give it up.” Mittavinda bowed before his teacher and asked to be his follower. The teacher, the Bodhisattva, welcomed him.
Moral: Greed never ends.
