A long time ago deep in the mountains, there lived an honest and kind Buddhist monk. He earned his living by making straw shoes and selling them in the market. One day in the market, the monk sold some straw sandals he had made and got two coins in return. He was about to buy some food with the two coins when he felt something under his feet. He stopped to see what it was. There was a small red bag on the ground. He wondered what was inside the bag and opened it. To his surprise, there were twenty coins. The monk felt sorry for the owner of the pouch, since it was no small change. He decided to find the owner and return the pouch. He put his own two coins into the bag and began to wander about the market.

After a short while, the Buddhist priest saw a man searching on the ground frantically. Obviously, the man was looking for something. The monk approached him and asked him what he was doing. The man said, “Oh, I lost my money. I sold my cow today and put the money in my pouch. But the pouch is gone. I think I lost it along the way.” The man’s voice was cracking and he seemed close to tears. Now, the monk supposed that the man was a cattle seller. He asked the cattle seller how much money he lost. The seller replied twenty coins. Again, the monk asked the man where the money was kept. The cattle seller said he had put the twenty coins in a red pouch.

The monk said to him, smiling, “Don’t worry. Fortunately, I happened to find the coin pouch and I was looking for its owner. I think you must be the owner.” With these words, the monk handed the red pouch over to the man. The cattle trader was delighted, of course. He grabbed the pouch and shouted, “That’s it! This is my pouch! Oh thank God. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.” The monk was also happy to find the right owner of the pouch. Then, he took two coins out of the pouch. He explained, “These two coins are mine. I put them in your pouch temporarily. Here, the rest of the money is yours. Count it.” The cattle seller began to count the money. All twenty coins were there. The monk was pleased and was about to leave.

Suddenly, the cattle trader seized the monk by the collar and yelled at him. “Wait! Two coins are missing. The two coins you took are mine.” The monk couldn’t believe his ears. “What do you mean it’s your money? You said you lost twenty coins, didn’t you? All twenty coins are intact in the pouch. These two are mine.” But the cattle seller continued looking daggers at the monk. He shouted angrily, “No, you heard me wrong. I clearly said I lost twenty-two coins. I want my money back. Give me the two coins right now, or I will report you to the village magistrate.”

The monk was struck speechless by the man’s blatant lie and shameless attitude. So, he agreed to go to the village magistrate to determine who was right. In front of the magistrate, the Buddhist priest and the cattle each told their own stories. The magistrate listened to them carefully, closing his eyes. After a moment, he opened his eyes and asked the monk if it was true that he had found twenty coins. The monk answered in the affirmative. And then the magistrate turned to the cattle seller and asked him if he was sure he had lost twenty-two coins. The cattle seller said yes confidently. With a smile on his face, the magistrate said, “Alright. I believe both of you. Monk, you said you found twenty coins. And cattle seller, you said you lost twenty-two. So, the money the monk found cannot be the cattle seller’s. I order you, the cattle seller, to go back and look for the person who really has your money. Next time, make sure there are twenty-two coins before you accept the money. And you, monk, I want you to return to the market and find the rightful owner.”

The cattle trader was stunned. But he couldn’t say anything in protest because every word the magistrate uttered sounded fair and reasonable. After all, he overreached himself and lost everything. The monk felt sorry for the miserable man, although it served him right. The monk gave the coin pouch back to the man and said, “Hey, I know this is your money. Take it.” The cattle seller was surprised again. He was so embarrassed and ashamed. All he could say was “Thank you.”