The Widower And The Bag Of Ashes Lord Buddha narrated this story to Dighanakha to show how rigid beliefs and blind attachment to doctrines can be harmful. Advertisement Once upon a time, there lived a widower with a young son who was only five years of age. One day, the widower left the son in his house and went away for some business. At that time, a few robbers entered the house and looted it. They also kidnapped the boy and burnt the house. When the widower came back, he found a young boy's body charred in the remains of the house. The widower mistook it to be his own son. He was so distraught that after cremation, he stored the ashes of the boy in a bag. He became obsessed with the bag and carried it everywhere. Advertisement At nights, he would cry holding the bag. Meanwhile, the real son somehow managed to escape the clutches of the robbers and found his way back to his father. The boy kept knocking the door for a long time claiming to be the son. But the widower was crying with the bag of ashes in his arms. He thought that it was the neighbour's boy mocking him and ignored the knocks. The poor son kept knocking and calling out to his father, but finally had to wander off on his own. ©SOUL EMOTIONS Gautam Buddha Narrated story
