Parables of Wisdom
The Bag of Faults
दोषों की थैली · દોષોની થેલી
Why is it so easy to see what others do wrong?
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
Lakhu the potter can spot a fault in anyone from across the market, but he has never noticed one of his own. An old storyteller tells him about two bags that every person carries.
What it teaches Self-reflection Humility Pratikraman
The opening of the children's telling
In a busy market there lived a potter named Lakhu. He was good at making pots. But he had a funny habit. He always talked about what other people did wrong.
"The grocer is too slow!" he said. "The tailor is too proud!" said Lakhu. "That boy is lazy!" Lakhu could see everybody's mistakes. But he never saw his own.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Before we point at a fault, we can turn around and look in our own bag.
To talk about together
Which is harder, noticing someone else's mistake or noticing your own? Why?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.