Once, a hermit and his disciples were the guests of a king. After some days, the hermit decided to go back to his hermitage. The king requested him to extend his stay. The ascetic accepted but the disciples went back. One day, the chief disciple came back to pay homage to the hermit. He did not notice the king standing there. The king heard him uttering, “Oh, what a great pleasure! Oh, what a great pleasure!” The king thought that the disciple was happy after eating the royal dishes, which were scarcely available in forests. He thought the disciple was greedy. The hermit, however, read the king’s mind. He told the king that the disciple was once a king himself. The words “great pleasure” were meant to show the pleasure of the life of an ascetic, which he had never experienced when he was a king. The king felt ashamed of his thoughts and apologised to the disciple.
The King and the Disciple
