In Kashmir long ago lived a monk named Mirathi, an exemplary upholder of Buddhist precepts.Through the power of meditative concentration he had developed miraculous powers. His numerous disciples made firsthand reports of their teacher flying in the air, reading their minds,describing past lives, and accurately foretelling future events.

The great monk Mirathi was a vegetarian. Moreover, in strict adherence to Buddhist tradition, he did not eat after midday. One day he happened to be in his forest abode, dyeing his old ocher monk's robe in a large pot set over an outdoor fire pit, when a band of angry men came upon him looking for a baby cow that had recently been lost. Opening the pot and finding it full of motley bits and pieces of blood-colored hue, they shouted accusations at the silent monk, accusing him of stealing and slaughtering their cow. Then they led him away.

A kangaroo court that was convened in the nearby village immediately sentenced the silent monk to be placed in chains in a dungeonlike hole in the ground, where he remained for several days. He said nothing to disprove the claims made against him and made no attempt to secure his release. His disciples beseeched him to rectify the matter Mirathi himself said nothing.

After several days, the villagers found the missing cow. Realizing their mistake, they petitioned the local chief to free the monk, but the chieftain was distracted by other important affairs and neglected the case for months and months. Meanwhile, Mirathi lingered in his earthen pit.

Finally, several of the foremost disciples of the imprisoned monk sought a personal audience with the local king. He was astonished at their tale, fearing that a grave injustice had been done and that immense bad karma would ensue for the entire kingdom as well as for the irresponsible villagers. Therefore, he quickly ordered the monk freed and had him brought forth in order to make amends. It was not every day that a distinguished cleric was condemned under false charges to spend six months in a filthy hole!

When the dignified old monk appeared before the king, the king begged his forgiveness and asked what could be done to right the terrible wrong that had befallen Mirathi through his oversight, promising to punish the parties directly responsible for Mirathi's unjust incarceration. Mirathi replied, "Esteemed king, please punish no one. It was my turn to suffer, and I endured it willingly. No one suffers anything except at the hands of the kamma that his or her own actions have ineluctably produced."

The king was astonished. "Why, venerable sir, what have you done?"

Mirathi explained that in a remote past life he had been a thief who had stolen a baby cow from some villagers. While escaping from hot pursuit, he had abandoned his stolen cow near an arhat(liberated sage) who was meditating in the forest, and it came about that the enlightened monk was punished for the crime by being chained for six days in a hole.

Mirathi continued, with downcast eyes, " gracious and just king, as a result of that negative karmic action, I have endured lifetime after lifetime of misery in the lower realms of existence. Now, at last, my kamma has been fully exhausted, and my sin expiated. Therefore I have only gratitude and respect for you and your subjects."

Bowing low, Mirathi went quietly back to the forest to pursue his spiritual practices in peace.