A monk bears no grudges

There was once a young woman from a rich family who fell in love with a peasant. When the peasant learnt of her feelings for him, he was overjoyed and later, as a result of their secret union the girl became pregnant. The young woman's family and the towns people soon came to know what had transpired. The townspeople were outraged and felt that this behavior could not be accepted, as a result it was determined that the young woman be sentenced to death for committing such an unpardonable sin.  The people put her into an animal cage to drown her in the sea.  Before she was to be executed, the townspeople questioned her as to who was responsible for the child.  The girl did not want to give her loved one away; so without thinking, she put the blame on the monk who lived in the temple to the East.

All the people were furious,“how could a monk be so shameless and immoral”, “he seduced an earthly woman”, they quarreled amongst themselves. The townspeople could not turn a blind eye to such depraved behavior. So they went in droves to the temple, holding poles and hoes in hand, without saying a word, they beat the monk. Half dead, the monk asked for the reason. After listening to the story, he knelt down and said in tears “you folks, it’s completely all my wrongdoing. My life is of no value. I beg you to spare the lives of the girl and her child”. Seeing the scene, the people decided to expel the monk from the temple. He was then left homeless. The life of the girl with the unborn baby was spared.

Because she fell pregnant out of wedlock, the girl could only marry the family's servant. With the birth of their son, the family lived together happily.

The poor monk had to wander everywhere. He endured the coldness in winter and the heat in summer. In his old age, he set up a grass-shed next to the temple from where he had been expelled, that was where the monk would stay for the rest of his life.

One day, the girl heard that the old man in the grass shed was the monk who had been expelled. She came with her husband and her son to thank him for saving her life. When she saw the monk, she asked in tears, “can you still recognize me? You have been suffering a miserable life just because of me”. The old monk looked at the girl for a while and said, “I can’t remember what you speak of”. The girl went on to say, “I'll build you a temple to reward you for your grace”. The monk was neither moved nor interested: to this the monk replied, “you and I don’t know each other, please leave me.”