Monks and Acharyas
The Fortune-Telling Monk
निमित्त कथक मुनि · નિમિત્ત કથક મુનિ
A kind answer to a worried wife, and why it went so wrong
- 4 min full story
- For grown-ups
A monk who knows the science of omens kindly tells a waiting wife when her husband will come home. His prediction is correct, yet it sets off suspicion, cruelty and grief, and shows why Jain monks do not tell fortunes.
What it teaches Restraint Right speech Suspicion
The opening of the story
Jain monks and nuns give up a great many things when they take initiation. One of them surprises people: they are not to tell fortunes, read omens or predict the future for householders, even when they have the knowledge to do it. Why should a monk keep quiet when a word from him could ease someone's worry? The old teachers answered with this story.
Once there was a young woman whose husband had gone abroad on business. Months passed with no news, and she grew anxious. One day a monk came through her town, a learned monk who had studied nimitta, the science of signs and omens. Hoping for comfort, she went to him, bowed and asked, "Maharaj, when will my husband come back?"
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Even a true word, spoken carelessly, can do harm; think of where it will travel.
To talk about together
The monk only wanted to comfort the wife. Was it wrong for him to answer her, and what might he have said instead?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.