Week 2 Story: Too Much Kindness

A young man found himself on hard times. He had no friends, no home, and no job. With no one else to turn to, the young man found himself searching for his only living relative- his kind, wrinkled grandmother. The young man had not seen his grandmother in over a decade. He worried that she may not recognize the man he had grown-up to be. With his unshaven face and ragged clothes, the young man feared that his grandmother would not welcome him with open arms. Yet, the young man, in this rough patch of his life, felt that he had no option but to find his grandmother so he could get back on his feet.

He asked around town of his grandmother. One day, as he sat on the street corner asking for money, he overheard his family's name in the conversation of two strangers walking by.

The young man leapt up with excitement and cried, "That is me! That is my family! Do you know my grandmother?"

The startled passerby answered, "The only living member of that family lives in the next town down the road at the top of the biggest hill in the town. Surely, you can't be related to that kind old woman?"

The young man did not respond, as he had already started running down the dirt road out of his town. He did not stop running until he reached the next town. He found his way to the biggest hill in the town and ran up to the only house at the top of hill. The young man had never seen such an amazing building. He saw a grand courtyard full of all kinds of flowers and a fountain. Beyond that stood a shining white three-story building complete with columns, statues, and wrinkled old woman standing in the doorway. The young man ran to the old woman and explained that he was her grandson. The kind woman recognized her family immediately and accepted him into her home. 

The kind woman's gardenSource

The young man was given every luxury he could have desired- fresh food cooked for him, a soft bed, even money! The young man was so thankful. He promised his grandmother that he would be back on his own feet within the month. He went to sleep that night and, unfamiliar with comfortable sleeping conditions, he slept for a whole week! Upon awaking, he lost himself in the beauty of his grandmother’s flowers, the relaxing noises of her fountain, and the taste of her delicious food. The young man did not leave his grandmother’s home for a single moment all month.

At the end of the month, the kind old woman explained that the young man could continue to live with her if he needed it. However, she was too old to return to work, and he was eating into her life savings. If the young man stayed too long, the old woman would also find herself on hard times. The young man told the kind woman he would again find work by the end of the month and get back on his feet.

Another month passed. The young man had begun to eat more food, sleep more, and put on weight. It was considered a good day if the kind grandmother did not have to feed the young man in his bed. Again, the grandmother reminded her grandson that she could not support his for long. Again, the young, now round, man promised to find work by the end of the month.

The month came and went with the young man again making no progress. On the morning of the last day of the month, the kind grandmother told the young man that she could support him no longer despite their bond as family. The young man was outraged. He leapt from his bed and accused his kind grandmother of not caring about him. He reminded her that he was living on the street with no friends, no home, and no job before she took him in.

“How could you want me to return to that?” the young man cried.

“I don’t want you to find yourself on hard times,” the kind old woman answered. “Yet, I don’t want to find myself on hard times either.”

The kind woman told the young man he had until the end of the day to leave her home because she could no longer support him. The young man told his grandmother he would be gone by the end of the day. The end of the day came and went. The young man fell asleep in his bed, ignoring the sobs of his grandmother in the next room.

The young man awoke the next morning to rain falling on his face. He slowly opened his eyes to see that no roof covered his head. No blanket covered his body. No bed was underneath him. There was no food made for him. He awoke on the same streets he once slept on in his own town.

The dirt road the the man awoke on.

Source

Rather than lie in the dirt with the rain splashing in puddles around him, the young man returned to the spot of the wise old woman’s home. Everything was intact. His grandmother still lived there, seemingly as rich as before. Yet, she no longer recognized him, as though something had erased her memory. She did not welcome him into her home. Rather, the old woman asked the young man to leave.

The young man knew he had wasted his chance to get back on his feet. He should never have taken advantage of someone who was only trying to help.

Author's Note: 

Reading the Jatakas for this week, I saw that each story was trying to teach a lesson. The majority of these stories used animals as their medium. I chose not to follow this route because I felt the lesson to be learned is more easily understood if the story is about humans. I liked the lesson of the "Crane and Crab" story where the crane's downfall was his own trickery. I attempted to take that sort of teaching moment and apply a slightly different lesson.

Bibliography. "The Cunning Crane and the Crab" from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. Web Source.