The story of the right mind and the wrong mind starts with two friends who live in a small village. One of the friends had a virtuous mind while the other friend had a wicked mind. One day the friend who had a wicked mind thought that he was poor and that he lacked the understanding to earn money for himself.
The friend with a wicked mind thought of taking his other friend with a virtuous mind to another kingdom and making use of his skill to earn money. The friend with a wicked mind thought that if he could deprive his friend of all the earnings, he could have all the money to himself and live happily.
After devising his plan, the friend with the wicked mind went to meet his other friend. He told his friend that they need to earn money to provide for themselves when they grow old. Then he told his friend that they should travel to another kingdom to earn money.
He also tried to convince his friend that they should travel to another kingdom so that they could have stories to tell their grandchildren. Upon hearing this, the friend agreed with the plan to move to another kingdom to earn money. Both friends were ready to move to another kingdom.
Before they left, they took the blessings of their parents and their mentors. Then they began their journey. In the new kingdom, they settled in, the two friends made a lot of money. This is because of the skill which the friend with the virtuous mind possesses.
After making money for some time, the two friends were pleased with what they had earned and they planned to return to their home. On their way home, the wicked-minded friend told his friend that it wouldn’t be right for them to carry such money home because their friends and family would start asking them for money. He also warned his friend of the danger of theft.
The wicked-minded friend then advised his friend that they should bury the money in the bush where no one would be able to find it. He said that they should only take the amount they need and bury the rest of the money. He said that if they needed more money, they could easily come back to where they buried the money and dig it out.
The friend with a virtuous mind agreed to this plan without doubting his friend. They both buried the money under a tree and they went back home with only a portion of the money they earned. After a few days, the wrong-minded friend went back to the jungle where they buried the money in the night.
He took all the money that they had buried and took all the money. He then closed the pit just as it was. After taking the money, they went back home and hid the money. After a couple of days, the wicked-mined friend pretended that nothing had happened and he went to his friend.
He told his friend with a virtuous mind that he had spent all the money because he had a large family to look after. He told his friend that they should go and get more money from where they kept it in the bush.
When they dug up the money from the pit, they discovered that the money wasn’t there. The wrong-minded friend started blaming the other friend. He said that the only people who knew about where the money was hidden were both of them. The wrong-minded friend then blamed the virtuous friend that he had stolen the money. So he demanded his own half of the money or else he would report to the village elders.
The virtuous friend was surprised by this and he defended himself by saying that he had not taken any money. Soon the two friends started fighting and they went to the elders in the village for justice. The elders asked them to swear an oath before the God of fire to seek truth.
The wicked-minded friend suggested that before they start pledging to the God of fire, they should first request the spirit of the trees to bear witness. He said that he buried the money in front of a big tree and the tree would tell the truth. He said that if this fails, then they can pledge before the God of fire.
His wicked-minded friend reported to his father that he had stolen a huge amount of money from the village. He pleaded with his father that he needed his cooperation to rescue him and shift all the blame on his friend. He begged his father to help him or he will lose his life and lose the money.
His father asked how he could help him so that he wouldn’t have to lose the money. He then explained to his father that there was a big hollow where he hid the money. Then he told his father that he must get the money before morning.
He planned that when they all get to the jungle ask for the spirit of the tree to show the truth, the father will have to shout from inside the tree that his friend, the one with a virtuous mind is the thief. The greedy father agreed with his plan and they went to the jungle.
Before morning, the man hid in the tree. Then the elders of the village along with the two friends headed to the tree where they buried the money. The friend with the wicked mind asked the spirit of the tree to tell them who stole the money.
As soon as the wrong-minded friend spoke, the father heard his voice. He then replied from a tree that the other friend was the one that stole the money. This shocked the village elders and they knew that the spirit of the would only speak the truth. Then they started discussing how they would deal with the thief.
Meanwhile, the friend with a virtuous mind knew that something was suspicious when he heard the spirit of the tree speak. He knew it would be impossible for the spirit of the tree to tell lies. Then he placed lots of dried leaves in front of the tee and he set it on fire.
The father hid inside the tree, but when the tree was set ablaze, he couldn’t endure the smoke. His entire body was burnt, and he cried out for help. He shocked the elders of the village by being found inside the tree, and they asked what he had been doing there.
He later confessed what he was doing and he narrated the whole incident to the villagers. After hearing this, the village elders knew the truth and they punished the friend with a wicked mind for his wrongdoings.