Lay Followers
Nagdatta Sheth
नागदत्त सेठ · નાગદત્ત શેઠ
Why did the quiet monk smile three times?
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- Best shared with a grown-up
A rich merchant plans a house to last seven generations, feeds his little son on his lap, and turns away a frightened goat, and each time a passing monk smiles. When Nagdatta asks why, the answers change his life.
What it teaches Impermanence Attachment Compassion
The opening of the children's telling
Once there was a rich man named Nagdatta. One morning he told a painter, "Make my house so beautiful that it shines for a hundred years!" A quiet monk walking past heard him, and he smiled.
At lunch, Nagdatta held his little son on his lap. He loved the boy very much and held him very tight. The same monk came to the door for food, saw them, and smiled again.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Every creature that comes to us for shelter may be closer to us than we know.
To talk about together
The monk smiled at three things Nagdatta did. Which of the three do you think matters most, and why?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.