Illisa the Cheap
(Miserliness)
Once upon a time, there was a
billionaire in northern India who was an adviser to a king. Although he was
very rich, he was not good-looking at all. He was lame, had crooked feet and
deformed hands. Even his eyes were crooked too, for he was crosseyed. Some said
he had a crooked mind as well, for he had no religion whatsoever. You might
think that people would call him ‘Illisa the Crooked’, but that was not the
case. Illisa also happened to be a miser. He refused to give anything to
anybody. He was so stingy that he could not even bear to spend a single cent
for his own enjoyment.
Because of that, it was said that his
home was just like a pond possessed by demons, where no one could quench his
thirst. Interestingly enough, Illisa’s ancestors, of the past seven
generations, were philanthropists. They were the most generous of gift givers
who gave away the very best of their possessions. But when Illisa inherited the
family fortune, he put a halt to that great family tradition.
For instance, the family had always
maintained a charity dining hall, where anyone in need could come for a free
hot meal. But Illisa had that razed to the ground. He also forced the poor and
hungry away from his home, hitting them as they left. He felt they were a
burden and only incurred extra expenses for him. Because of his stinginess, people
soon started calling him ‘Illisa the Cheap’.
One day, Illisa was on his way home
from the palace when he saw a tired, worn-out villager by the side of the road.
The man had obviously walked a great distance. He was sitting on the ground,
pouring some cheap wine into a cup. As he was drinking it, he ate some smelly
dried fish for snacks. Seeing the villager savour his drink made Illisa thirsty
for some liquor too. “I would love to have a drink! But if I do, others may
want to drink with me, and that would cost me money!” he thought. Unwilling to
share with others, he suppressed his craving for alcohol.
Alas, his craving did not disappear.
Suppressing it and thinking about it constantly made him sick instead. As time
passed, his skin turned yellow, and he grew so thin that his veins protruded
out from his flesh. He fought a constant battle against his desire for liquor.
At night, he slept fitfully with his face down. His wife noticed the changes in
him. “Are you sick, my husband?” she asked one day while massaging his back to
comfort him.
“No,” he replied.
“Was the king cross with you?” she
asked again.
“No,” said Illisa. “Perhaps our
children or the servants have done something to upset you?” continued his wife.
Again his answer was negative.
“Or do you have a strong craving for
something?” she tried again.
Illisa the Cheap kept quiet. He was
afraid if he told her, it might end up costing him money! But his wife pleaded
with him to reveal what was bothering him. “Tell me, please tell me,” she said.
Finally, swallowing hard and clearing his throat, he said, “Yes, I do have a
strong craving.”
“A craving for what?” she asked.
“For a sip of liquor,” he admitted at
last.
“Oh, is that all?” answered his wife.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You are not a poor man. In fact, you are so
rich that you can easily buy a drink for yourself and the whole city as well if
you like! Shall I brew a big batch of liquor for everyone?” she asked.
Of course, this wasn’t what Illisa
the Cheap wanted to hear. “Why should we give free liquor to others? Let them
earn their own!” he blurted out.
“Well then, what about just us and
our neighbours?” his wife asked.
“I didn’t know that you have become
so rich all of a sudden!” he shot back at her.
“How about just our household then?”
she asked again. “How generous you are with my money!”
“All right then,” she said, “I will
brew just enough liquor for you and me, my husband.”
“Why should you be included? Women
should not drink liquor!” came Illisa’s swift reply.
“Okay, I understand perfectly well
now!” said Illisa’s wife. “I will brew only enough liquor for you alone.”
“If you prepare liquor here, people
will know of it sooner or later and come begging for some. Even if I buy from a
liquor store and bring it back to drink, others will still find out and want
some. There will be no liquor given away in this house!” he said strongly.
Illisa decided the best course of
action was to give the smallest coin he had to a servant boy, and sent him
running to the liquor store. When he returned, Illisa took him to the
riverside, got the small bottle of liquor from the boy, set him to stand guard nearby
before hiding himself in the underbush. Next, he poured some liquor into a cup and
began to drink secretly.
In this story, it happened that
Illisa’s father had been reborn as King Sakka, the god king of the 33 levels of
Heaven. He had this fortunate rebirth because he was generous and charitable
throughout his life. At this particular moment, King Sakka was wondering
whether his free food kitchen was still dishing out food to the needy. He
discovered that it no longer existed, that his son had abandoned this family tradition
and had even chased the poor and hungry out onto the streets! With his magic
powers, he saw his miserly son hiding in the bushes drinking by himself as he
was afraid that he might have to share the drink with others.
King Sakka decided to teach Illisa a
lesson, a lesson about the effects of both good and bad actions. He decided to
transform stingy Illisa into a generous person so that he too could be reborn
in a heavenly world. With this thought, King Sakka changed his own appearance
and became the spitting image of Illisa the Cheap with all his physical
deformities. He entered the city, went to the palace, and asked for an audience
with the king.
“Let my adviser Illisa come in,” said
the king. “Why have you come at this hour?”
“My lord,” said King Sakka, “I have
come to give you all my wealth. You can then fill the treasury to the brim.”
“No, no. I have enough, much more
than is needed,” replied the king.
“If you do not want it, my lord,
kindly permit me to give it away as I wish,” answered the disguised King Sakka.
“Do as you wish then,” replied the
king.
King Sakka left the palace and went
to Illisa’s house. As the god was the exact likeness of Illisa, the servants
greeted him as if he were indeed their master. He entered the house and sat
down. He summoned the gatekeeper and instructed him to chase anyone out who
looked like him and wanted to come into the house. Then he went upstairs and
looked for Illisa’s wife. “My love, let us be generous!” he said smilingly when
he saw her.
Illisa’s wife, children and servants
were surprised. “He has never given anything to anybody before. It must be the
alcohol that is causing him to behave so abnormally,” they said to one other.
“As you wish, my lord, give away as
much as you like,” replied Illisa’s wife.
“Call for the drummer then,” said
King Sakka, “and order him to go beat his drum in the city. Let him announce
that all who desire gold, silver, pearls, jewels, lapis lazuli, diamonds and
corals are to come to the residence of Illisa the billionaire.”
She did what he said. Soon, a large
crowd began to arrive carrying baskets, buckets and bags of all sizes. King
Sakka opened up the storerooms containing Illisa’s wealth and said,
“I give you all these riches. Take as
much as you want and go.” So the people took it all outside and piled it up.
They filled up their containers and carried them away.
One clever man from the countryside
even made use of Illisa’s bullock cart to carry off Illisa’s wealth. First, he
harnessed Illisa’s bullocks to the bullock cart. Then he filled it to the brim with
Illisa’s seven treasures, and rode out of the city by the main road. Without
knowing it, he passed by the bushes where the real Illisa was hiding, still
drinking his liquor. He was so happy about becoming rich overnight that he
shouted, “May Lord Illisa the billionaire live a hundred years! Because of you,
I have struck the jackpot. I won’t have to work another day in my life! These
were your bullocks, your cart and your seven treasures. They were not given to
me by my father and mother — but by you, Illisa the generous!” Illisa was
shocked to hear this. “This man is talking about me! How can it be! Has the king
confiscated my wealth and given it away?” he thought. He jumped out from the bushes
and shouted, “Hey you, what are you doing with my bullock cart?” He grabbed the
reins and stopped the cart.
The villager got down and said,
“What’s wrong with you? The billionaire Lord Illisa is giving away his wealth
to all the people of the city. What do you think you are doing?” As he said
this, he hit Illisa hard on the head and rode away on the cart filled with treasures.
Illisa the Cheap bounced to his feet and chased after the cart. He grabbed the
reins a second time. Again the villager got down from the cart, seized Illisa
by the hair and struck him hard several times on the head before grabbing him
by the neck and throwing him onto the ground. Then he drove off. Thoroughly
sobered by now, Illisa ran home as fast as he could. He saw crowds of people
carting off his precious jewels. He tried to stop them, but they just pushed
him out of the way and knocked him down. He nearly fainted from the scuffle.
Covered with bruises, he tried to get into his house only to be stopped by his
gatekeeper. “Where do you think you’re going?” said the gatekeeper roughly. He
hit him with a cane, then grabbed him by the throat and threw him out.
“The king would be able to help me,”
thought Illisa. So he quickly ran to the palace to see the king. “My lord, why
do you allow my house to be looted?” he asked the king.
“This is not my doing. You, yourself,
came to me and said if I would not accept your wealth, you would give it all to
the citizens of the country. I applaud your generosity! Next, you sent a
drummer out onto the streets to announce that you are giving your wealth away
to anyone and everyone.”
“My lord, you must be joking! I did
not do such a thing. People don’t call me ‘Illisa the Cheap’ for nothing! I
don’t give anything to anybody if I can help it! Please, my lord, summon whoever
is giving my treasures away and clear up this matter.”
After being summoned by the king,
King Sakka came to the palace. “Who do you think is the real billionaire, my
king?” Illisa asked. Neither the king nor his ministers could tell the
difference between them.
“We cannot tell. Do you know someone
who can recognise you for sure?”
“Yes, my lord, my wife can recognise
me,” said Illisa. But when she was summoned and asked to decide, she stood next
to King Sakka and said, “This is my husband, my lord.” When Illisa’s children
and servants were called upon, they too chose King Sakka.
“I have a wart on my head that is
covered up by my hair. Only my barber knows this,” Illisa thought. “Please
summon my barber. He knows me very well,” he then said to the king.
The barber was called up. “Can you
tell us which of these two men is Illisa the billionaire?” asked the king.
“I must examine their heads,” he
said, “then I will be able to determine who the real Illisa is.”
“Do so,” replied the king.
Immediately, King Sakka used his
magic to conjure up a wart on his head. When the barber examined them, he found
warts on both heads. “Oh king, I cannot recognize which is the real Illisa.
Both have crooked feet, hands and eyes, and both have warts on the same spots
on their heads! I can’t tell the difference!” he exclaimed. When Illisa heard
this, he began to tremble. He was so terrified and fearful of losing his last hope
of regaining his wealth that he fainted on the spot. At that very moment, King
Sakka manifested his true form and declared, “I’m not Illisa. I’m King Sakka,
the god king of the 33 levels of Heaven.” As he said this, he levitated into the
air and stayed there.
To wake Illisa from his fainting
spell, the attendants splashed cold water on his face. Illisa then knelt down
in respect before King Sakka, the King of Gods.
“Illisa, this wealth came from me,
not from you. When I was your father, I performed many meritorious deeds. I was
glad to give to the poor and needy. That is why, when I died, I was reborn as
King Sakka, the King of Gods,” spoke King Sakka to Illisa.
“However, you have violated our
family tradition,” he continued. “You live the life of a miser, burned my
charity dining hall to the ground, and chased the homeless beggars out onto the
streets. You kept all the family wealth to yourself. You are so stingy that you
are even unwilling to spend it for your own enjoyment! The family fortune is
completely useless in your hands. It would be better if you were dead!
“Illisa, son of my former life, if
you change your ways and become generous, you will be the one to benefit most.
If you rebuild my free food kitchen and give hot meals to all who ask, you will
earn both merit and peace of mind. But if you persist in being stingy, I will
make all your wealth disappear into thin air, and I will split your crooked
skull with my divine diamond dagger!” Fearing for his life, Illisa promised
King Sakka that he would give generously from then onwards. King Sakka accepted
his promise. Still floating in the air, he preached the true value of
generosity and of giving. He also convinced Illisa to practise the Five
Precepts for the benefit of himself and others. Killing, stealing, sexual
misconduct, lying or speaking falsely, and losing control of one’s mind from
the consumption of alcohol were to be given up entirely.
Then King Sakka vanished and returned
to his home in the heavens above. As for Illisa, he did indeed change for the
better. He gave alms generously, performed many other good deeds, and became
much happier. When he died, he was reborn in a heavenly world.
The moral is ✏ Poor indeed is the
rich man who won’t part with a penny.
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