Tricky business

The other day I was walking to my office when I had an encounter with a smiling Buddhist monk dressed in gold robes. He walked towards me, and when he got close enought, he inserted a shiny gold card with an image of the Buddha into one hand and slipped a beaded bracelet onto my wrist. It was a lovely and magnanimous gesture.

Until he pulled out a small clipboard and repeated one word three times: “Money!”

When I declined — in a large city, you don’t pull your wallet out on crowded sidewalks for anyone — that smile turned upside down into a contemptuous frown. Then in one quick gesture, off with the bracelet and he snatched the cardboard Buddha from my hand.

Resorting to trickery is never good practice, especially when your intention is simply to squeeze money out of someone.