By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik - Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist
Stories of merchants are notably absent in Brahmin scriptures but are widespread in Buddhist scriptures. Shortly after the Buddha attained Nirvana, he was met by two merchants who fed him but admitted they could not practise the rigorous meditation techniques. The Buddha, therefore, advised them to spread the word of the dhamma by building stupas containing his relics. He even gave them a lock of his hair and demonstrated the design of the stupa by overturning a bowl on to a folded cloth.
