Once, there lived a rich man in Benaras; he was very generous. He built dining halls to distribute free food to the poor. In a forest near Benaras lived a Silent Buddha, who was meditating. After meditating for almost seven days and nights, the Silent Buddha was dying of starvation. So, he went to the rich man to ask for food. Seeing the Silent Buddha, the rich man asked his servant to give him alms. However, Mara, the god of death, wanted to kill the Buddha. He created a deep pit full of burning coals to prevent the servant from giving alms. Seeing their plight, the rich man himself took the alms to the Silent Buddha. He stepped into the pit of fire, but was lifted by a cool lotus blossom. He gave the alms, and Mara was defeated. The Silent Buddha blessed him and left
Moral: One should never be scared of doing good deeds.
