The barber went home and shaved his head. Then he hid himself behind the door of his house and waited for a monk to pass by. What he did not know was that Chudamani had performed austerities and worship and had gained merit by doing all that. He wanted to get wealth by simply killing a monk, not by gaining merit. So when he saw a monk finally passing by near his house, he ran out with the cudgel and hit him. But the monk just died! He did not turn into a golden jar. The King’s soldiers saw him killing the poor monk and arrested him. The greedy barber was hauled off to the court and punished for having killed an innocent monk. And that was the end of the barber. “It is merit that should be recognised, Sir,” said Chakravaka, “taking care to decide who our friends and enemies are.”
The Barber’s End
