couple of days ago, i drove to a zichar place to pack dinner. i ordered yi min, hor fun and bee hoon and they cost $9 in all. i paid up immediately. after that, i walked back to my car to make sure i was not blocking anyone as i had parked at a non-parking space and had left my car engine running. after a couple of minutes, i went back to the store and saw the lady put 3 boxes into a plastic bag. she passed me the plastic bag and i took it and left hurriedly. couldn't afford to let mum wait too long at home.
once home, i took out the boxes and when i poured out the contents, i realized the lady had passed me another person's order. a receipt in the bag indicated $11.50 for the contents. i had initially thought of driving back to the store but common sense told me that whoever ordered that order would have left, and worst still, mum would end up with no dinner for a long while more. and so, i gave her the food and we ate the dinner. after eating the dinner, i drove back to the store to pay the additional $2.50. initially, the lady was defensive and said something that sounded like i created problems for them, and then she gave me an evil look like as though i did it purposely. but after explaining to her that i had returned to pay up the balance, she grudgingly took the money and whispered a "thank cute". her semi-hostile response didn't bother me.
when i discovered the error and told mum i wanted to return the balance, she chided me. to her, it was their mistake and i have every right to just eat and ignore the whole matter. she insisted i did not need to return them the balance. and when i told bee that evening, he, on the other hand, questioned my motive for returning the money. he didn't explain why he questioned my motive and i didn't bother to ask. that was the right thing to do. i really didn't understand why the fuss about returning the $2.50. to me, it was not the amount, but rather the principle behind it. even if it was 10cents, i would still have driven back to return it. if i don't, i would have been guilty of being greedy. and that is not in sync with my practise as a buddhist.
once home, i took out the boxes and when i poured out the contents, i realized the lady had passed me another person's order. a receipt in the bag indicated $11.50 for the contents. i had initially thought of driving back to the store but common sense told me that whoever ordered that order would have left, and worst still, mum would end up with no dinner for a long while more. and so, i gave her the food and we ate the dinner. after eating the dinner, i drove back to the store to pay the additional $2.50. initially, the lady was defensive and said something that sounded like i created problems for them, and then she gave me an evil look like as though i did it purposely. but after explaining to her that i had returned to pay up the balance, she grudgingly took the money and whispered a "thank cute". her semi-hostile response didn't bother me.
when i discovered the error and told mum i wanted to return the balance, she chided me. to her, it was their mistake and i have every right to just eat and ignore the whole matter. she insisted i did not need to return them the balance. and when i told bee that evening, he, on the other hand, questioned my motive for returning the money. he didn't explain why he questioned my motive and i didn't bother to ask. that was the right thing to do. i really didn't understand why the fuss about returning the $2.50. to me, it was not the amount, but rather the principle behind it. even if it was 10cents, i would still have driven back to return it. if i don't, i would have been guilty of being greedy. and that is not in sync with my practise as a buddhist.
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