THE BUTTERFLY LOVERS - A Buddhist Story from the performing arts.

In Buddhism, when one died, usually one would wish to be reborn in the higher realms as humans or divas. But a pair of lovers find happiness to be reborn as a pair of butterflies after their death.

One of the most popular Chinese folk stories that had been transformed into various artistic performances such as movies, novels, dramas, songs and a violin concerto is the legendary Butterfly Lovers. This violin concerto, which you are now listening to in midi format, had been made famous on the international scene by renowned performers such as Vanessa Mae (with the London Philharmonic Orchestra), Takako Nischizaki (with the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Lim Kek-chang with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, etc.).

ACT I   The Courtship

The legend goes that a girl name Chu Ying-tai (literally, heroine platform) was a very beautiful young lady who wished to go to school to study like boys did. In ancient China, only boys were allowed to do certain things such as joining the Army or going to school. In order to do so, a girl had to be disguised as a boy and hopefully her identity was not revealed (hence the Disney movie Mulan!!). So, just like Mulan, Chu Ying-tai dressed up herself as a boy and off she went to school in a neighhourhood city.

On the way to the city, Ying-tai met a handsome boy named Leung Shan-po (literally, mountain uncle) who was also going to the same school. Almost immediately, the two became very good friends, both on and off classes.

Three years had passed and Shan-po still did not know that his school friend was actually a girl who had a crush on him. One day, she received a warning letter from her father ordering her to return home. Shan-po escorted her all the way, still not knowing that "he" was a girl even though she had given many hinds that she had fallen in love madly with him. When they departed, Ying-tai told him that she had a younger sister and "he" would ask "his" family to arrange a marriage with Shan-po.

As Shan-po returned to school, his teacher's wife disclosed to him the secret: Ying-tai was a girl who had a crush on him. Suddenly, Shan-po was awakened from his foolishness and immediately went back to meet Ying-tai -- but it was too late.......

Act II      Forced Marriage

As Ying-tai returned home to see her parents, she heard a shocking news: her parents had arranged to marry her to the next door neighbour, Mr. Mah Man-choi, who was the son of a very rich merchant. During feudal times in China, all marriages were practically arranged by the parents, and the teaching of Confucius is that children MUST obey their parents with no argument whatsoever. After much conflicts, she had no choice but to accept the arrangement.

Shan-po finally arrived at the village and the two lovers met at a local Pagoda. But, unfortunately, their first date turned out to be their last greeting during their life times. The two lovers, under the doctrines of Confucism, had to be separated.

Shan-po became severely sick afterwards and soon died of heartbreaking and was buried next to the village.

ACT III      Their Rebirths as Butterflies

It was the wedding day for Ying-tai, but it was far from happy. As the bride and her procession was passing by Shan-po's tomb, suddenly a loud thunder roared from Heaven. A thunderbolt had hit her lover's tomb and cracked it opened. Immediately, Ying-tai jumped into the tomb and killed herself. Then, Heaven roared again, striking the tomb with another thunderbolt. Miraculously, the tomb closed up again to return to its normal shape.

Soon, a pair of butterflies appeared flying among the flower beds - the two lovers were reborn as butterflies. They could not get married as human beings, but they continued to live happily together in their next lives as a pair of butterflies.

What is the way of a person of courage?

Shakyamuni taught that the shallow is easy to embrace, but the profound is difficult. To discard the shallow and seek the profound is the way of a person of courage. -Nichiren.

Buddhism Day by Day
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 10/10

How to be true winners?

Those who say "I'll do it," who are willing to take on a challenge even if they are alone, are true winners. The determination, the commitment to take action yourself, is the force that leads to victory. As Buddhism teaches in the principle of a life-moment possesses three thousand realms, our mind or attitude can change everything.

Buddhism Day by Day
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 9/10

JOURNEY TO THE WEST - A Buddhist Story from Chinese Literature

The Plot

One of the most popular novels in the history of Buddhism (as well as in Chinese literature) is Journey to the West, also known as The Monkey King, written by Wu Chengen about 500 years ago, during the Ming Dynasty. It is a fiction that is enjoyed by millions of people of different cultures, countries and religions in Asia, from Japan to Korea to China to Singapore and from Buddhists to Muslims to Catholics to Christians. It had been made into various dramas, movies, cartoons, TV series, and operas throughout the last several centuries in Asia. It even appeared on one of the episodes of the American TV program "the Wishbone" a few years ago. Its story is based on a Holy Buddhist Monk, named Tang Xuanzang (literary, an expert in Sutra, Theory and Law of Buddhism), who was dispatched by the Tang Emperor (600 A.D.) to go to India to fetch Buddhist Scriptures.

However, the Journey to India was many thousand miles long, and the route was full of man-eating wild beasts, monsters, devils, demons, and plagued with other difficulties. Therefore, the Buddha assigned four disgraced deities to help him out on the way, to protect him from the devils, and to act as his disciples. The deal was that: all the four deities were sinners originally coming from Heaven, disgraced because they all disobeyed the Heavenly Emperor, and that if the mission were successful, then their sins would be forgiven and they would return to Heaven and be with the Heavenly Emperor forever (does it sound like Christianity?!).

As far as the story goes, only the Chinese Emperor and the Buddhist Monk are real historical figures. Everybody else is fictitious.

The Monkey King

The chief character of the novel, the Monkey King, was conceived by intercourse between Heaven and Earth, and lead a pack of monkeys in the Flower-Fruit Mountain. However, his ambition urged him to travel to Jambudvipa (one of the four continents in Buddhism) to learn magic and martial arts from a Doaist Master. He became such an expert in magic and martial arts that he could jump 108,000 miles just in one somersault, and he could see objects and hear voices 1,000 miles away (much better than today's technology!)

He appointed himself as "Great Saint Equal to Heaven" and demanded a position as one of the gods in Heaven. To avoid conflict, the Heavenly Emperor (sometimes called Jade Emperor by Daoists, King of Gods by Buddhists, or simply, God, by Christians) appointed him to a low position of Manger Supervisor at first and a Gardener in the Heavenly Garden later. In his later position, the Monkey King was supposed to keep watch of the Holy Peaches in the Heavenly Garden - anyone eating those peaches will be enlightened immediately. He was of course, under strict order not to eat those forbidden fruits, which were reserved for special guests of Heaven such as Laozi the Head of Daoism. The Monkey King, however, could not resist the temptation of those tasty forbidden fruits and ate them all. The Heavenly Emperor was furious and kicked him out of the Heavenly Garden (sounds like Genesis?).

Back to the Saha-World, the Monkey King committed even bigger sin. He went down to the deep ocean and took one of the pillars from the Dragon King Palace as his weapon. This weapon, made of diamond steel weighed 18,000 pound and could be expanded to as long as a ten feet long steel rod or be shrunken to the size of a pin at will.

Then he went to see Laozi, the head of Daoism, and stole all his pills from the main Daoist alchemy laboratory. Each pill could prolong a man's life by at least a few thousand years - and the Monkey King ate them all. Laozi was furious. He put the Monkey King into the alchemy stove and grilled him for 49 days. But after the fiery punishment, the Monkey King escaped without any injuries. What is worse is that his skin became as tough as steel and no sword nor arrow could cut it through.

Next, he went down to Hell, beaten up all the Hell Officers and threatened King Yama, the Lord of Hell, with his unique diamond steel rod. He even erased his own name off the Record of Karma and the Record of Births and Deaths so that there was now no way to control when and how he was to be reborn! Hell became a real mess after he returned to Earth.

As reports trickled back to Heaven, the Supreme Deity was of course more furious than before. He sent in a whole army of Heavenly Generals and Soldiers to catch the Monkey King. However, non of the gods was a match for the Monkey King in marital arts and magic, and so finally the Heavenly Emperor sought the assistance from the Buddha. The Buddha entered in a wager with the Monkey King and won. He then trapped the Monkey King under the weight of a huge mountain on the Silk Road.

Five hundred years later, the Holy Buddhist Monk sent by the Chinese Emperor happened to pass by the mountain on his way to India. With the help of Kuen Yin (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva of Compassion), he freed the Monkey King from his imprisonment and accepted him as his disciple, who would accompany him on his journey.

The Pig King

The second disciple of the Holy Buddhist Monk was the Pig King, who used to be the Admiral of the Heavenly Navy on the Silvery River (known as Milky Way by modern astronomers). During a party, the Admiral had a flirtation with the Goddess of the Moon, who refused his advances. The scandal aroused the anger of the Heavenly Queen (wife of Jade Emperor), who kicked the Admiral out of Heaven and sentenced him to be reborn as a Pig Monster in a small town along the Silk Road.

As a Pig King, the former Admiral from Heaven had an immersible appetite for woman and food. He could eat tons and tons of food and still felt hungry. And on the way to India, he flirted with various nymphs and female demons, getting himself into troubles. He used a nine-tooth garden rack as weapon.

The Sandy Monk

The third disciple of the Holy Buddhist Monk was known as Sandy, who used to be the Chief Security Officer in the Heavenly Palace holding the title General of Curled Curtains. One evening, he broke a piece of priceless antique vase which belonged to the Heavenly Queen at a party. For this sin, he was kicked out of Heaven and sentenced to be reborn as a man-eating Monster in Sandy River which flowed across the Silk Road.

In order for his sin to be forgiven, Sandy had to become a disciple of the Holy Buddhist Monk and to accompany him on the long difficult journey.

The White Horse

The fourth disciple is the White Horse which carried the Monk throughout the Journey. He used to be the Son of the Ocean Dragon King, responsible for the control of rainfalls and weather on Earth. His sin was that he disobeyed order from Heaven and failed to adhere to the weather schedule set up by the Heavenly Emperor. Therefore, he also got kicked out of Heaven and sentenced to be reborn as a White Horse whose duty was to accompany the Monk to fetch the Buddhist Scriptures. Most of the time, the Little Dragon just provided a means of transportation for the Holy Monk, but occasionally he helped out his other brother-in-arms in battles against demons on the Silk Road.

The Journey

Thus, the four disgraced sinners from Heaven were assigned a mission to protect the Holy Monk all the way from China to India. In the next 14 years, they had to face 81 near fatal disastrous incidents, ranging from getting rid of wild beast, converting devils and demons to Buddha's followers, catching run away pets of various gods and divas (such as Manjusri's Lion), and putting out a mountain fire that cannot be doused off by water. On one occasion, the Queen of an all-women Kingdom refused to stamp a visa on their passport documents to let them go, unless they raised children for them!

After the mission, the sins of all the four disciples were forgiven and all of them returned to Heaven. Then the Holy Buddhist Monk began to translate the scriptures into Chinese and Buddhism became the most popular religion in China for the next two thousand years.

In Conclusion

Whilst small children like the actions and humors of the novel, older readers who read it for the second or third time will appreciate the satirical nature of the story. The writer actually poked fun at ALL religions, and make jokes at not only Buddhism, but Daism, Confusism and even Christianity.

How to be a victorious champions?

Life is like a sea voyage. We each need to open up our own course in life with the strength of our convictions, unperturbed by the crashing breakers of life's stormy seas. The fiercer the tempest rages, the more we need to rouse our own fighting spirit and man the tiller with all our strength and skill crying, "Bring it on!" Through this type of arduous struggle we can forge the practical wisdom to triumph consistently and, as victorious champions, to create history.

Buddhism Day by Day
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 8/10

What will sincerity lead us to?

If you remain sincere in your interactions with others, you will one day find yourself surrounded by good friends. And among those people, your friendships will be as strong and unshakable as towering trees. Don't be impatient. Work first on developing yourself, and you can rest assured that an infinite number of wonderful encounters await you in the future.

Buddhism Day by Day
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 7/10

TWO STORIES ABOUT THE BUDDHA STATUE - A Zen Buddhism Koan

NOTE: These two Zen Koans have won big favours among Westerners who come to accept Buddhism as part of their spirituality. Together with the riddle "if you see the Buddha, kill him", they are frequently used by Western followers to promote Buddhism as an idealistic, rather than idol worshiping, religion.

STORY I: Dismantling the Buddha Statue
On a very cold chilly winter night, a poor unemployed man dropped into a Buddhist Temple and kneeled in front of the Main Buddha Statue. After saying a prayer to the Buddha, he bursted into tears and started to cry. The Monk-in-charge of the Temple, Dharma Master Wing Xi (literally, Glorious West) approached him and asked what happened.

"Your venerable," replied the poor man, "My wife and kids have been hungry for several days. I have tried my best to support them, but I could not find work anywhere in town. Now because of the weather, I am suffering from severe arthritis and other diseases. I think my family would not last any longer. That's why I come here to pray to the Buddha and ask him to alleviate my sufferings."

Master Wing Xi pondered, "as Buddhist monks, we do not have any money. How can we help him in such an emergency?" As he looked at the gold-plated Buddha Statue in the main hall, suddenly, he had an idea. He ordered his students to remove the arm from the Buddha Statue, peel the gold off the arm and gave it to the unemployed poor man. "Sell it to a gold smith and use the proceeds for your emergency," he told the poor man.

All the other monks were shocked at his decision and protested, "How can you break the arm of the Buddha Statue and give it away?"

Master Wing Xi said calmly, "You guys do not understand the Dharma. I do this to honour the Buddha himself."

The other monks were confused and angry, "You are breaking the Buddha Statue to pieces. How can this be considered to be an honour to Buddhism and to the Buddha himself."

Master Wing Xi replied, "I do honour our religion and the founder, the Buddha himself. Even though I am going to Hell after this, I am still going to break up the Statue and give it away."

Under the order from the Master, the monks had no choice but started to chip off the gold plate from the statue, but they surely did not like doing it. They started to murmur, "We are breaking up the Buddha Statue to pieces and give it away - and our Master says this is an honour to Buddhism? What an anti-religion idiot."

Upon hearing this, Master Wing Xi could not stand it any long. He shouted out loudly, "Don't you guys study the Buddhist Scriptures? Before he became a Buddha, in his previous lives, Prince Siddhartha gave himself up to feed a hungry tiger, cut his own flesh to feed an hungry eagle, donated his own eye to cure someone's eyesight, etc. He donated everything, including his own body parts for the well being of other sentient beings. Do you understand his teachings at all?! "

STORY II - Using the Buddha Statue as heating fuel
During the Teng Dynasty, Dharma Master Dan Xia (literally, Red Twilight) used to be a candidate for the civil service examination. But he got a "calling" and later became a Buddhist Monk instead.

On a cold winter night, a big snow storm hit the city and the temple where Dan Xia served as a Monk got snowed in. Cut off from outside traffic, the coal delivery man could not get to the Zen Monastery. Soon it ran out of heating fuel after a few days and everybody was shivering in the cold. The monks could not even cook their meals.

Dan Xia began to remove the wooden Buddha Statues from the display and put them into the fireplace.

"What are you doing?" the monks were shocked to see that the holy Buddha Statues were being burnt inside the fire place. "You are burning our holy religious artifacts! You are insulting the Buddha!"

"Are these statues alive and do they have any Buddha nature?" asked Master Dan Xia.

"Of course not," replied the monks. "They are made of wood. They cannot have Buddha Nature."

"OK. Then they are just pieces of firewood and therefore can be used as heating fuel," said Master Dan Xia. "Can you pass me another piece of firewood please? I need some warmth."

The next day, the snow storm had gone and Dan Xia went into town and brought back some replacement Buddha Statues. After putting them on the displays, he began to kneel down and burn incense sticks to them.

"Are you worshiping firewood?" ask the monks who are confused for what he was doing.

"No. I am treating these statues as holy artifacts and am honouring the Buddha." replied Dan Xia.

DON'T EXPECT ANY RETURN FOR YOUR DONATION - A Zen Buddhism Koan

One of the Buddhist Temples in ancient China was very small, but there were a lot of lay followers coming in to make offerings, to listen to Dharma lectures, and to perform religious rituals.. The Temple needed financial support from the villagers for expansion.

One day, a lay follower brought in a bag of 50 gold coins and gave it to the Buddhist Monk in charge, the Venerable Shing Chu. The Monk took the money and, without saying anything, attended to other matters.

The donor was very unhappy, because in ancient China, 50 gold coins were a lot of money, enough to support an ordinary family for several years - and the Buddhist monk simply took the donation without saying anything, not even a "thank you". So he followed the monk and said, "Your venerable, there are 50 gold coins in the bag which I have just donated to the temple."

"Yes, I know," replied the Monk, "you have just told me earlier."

The lay follower could not stand any longer. "But, I am donating 50 gold coins today, " he raised his voice and said loudly. "It is a large sum of money. How come you don't even acknowledge my donation nor even say, 'thank you'?"

By this time, both of them were walking pass by the Main Buddha Statue in the temple. The Monk replied, "You donate money to the Buddha, why do I have to say "thank you"? You make donations to create good merits for yourself and to make yourself happy. If you consider such donation as a business transaction, then I will give you a 'thank you' note on behave of the Buddha so that you can take it home with you. (Editor's Note: In many countries nowadays, you should ask for a donation receipt from religious organizations for income tax purposes!) But from now on, you should consider the Buddha to be your trading partner, not your teacher."

Motto: When you donate, you should not expect anything in return.

Forget about 'what if' and summon your courage.

If you summon your courage to challenge something, you'll never regret it. How sad it would be to spend your life wishing, "If only I had a little more courage." Whatever the outcome, the important thing is to take a step forward on the path that you believe is right. There's no need to worry about what others may think. It's your life, after all. Be true to yourself.

Buddhism Day by Day

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 6/10

Why must we never concede defeat in life?

No matter what the circumstances, you should never concede defeat. Never conclude that you've reached a dead end, that everything is finished. You possess a glorious future. And precisely because of that, you must persevere and study. Life is eternal. We need to focus on the two existences of the present and the future and not get caught up in the past. We must always have the spirit to begin anew "from this moment," to initiate a new struggle each day.

Buddhism Day by Day
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 5/10

ESCAPE FROM HELL - A Zen Buddhism Koan

Once upon a time a very wicked man died and ended up in Hell. As he was brought before King Yama, (the Lord of Hell in Buddhism), he pleaded to the King, "I am asking your Majesty to be merciful because I always recited Namo Amitabha Buddha." pleaded the wicked man.

"Can you give me a description of any good deed that you had done on Earth?" asked King Yama. "If you can, then I will be more than willing to let you go to Heaven instead of staying here."

The wicked man thought for a long time and said, "I recall I saved the life of a spider. A bird flew into my garden and destroyed a spider web, and I chased the bird away."

"OK, I will ask my Officers to verify what you say." said King Yama. So he sent two Hell Officers off to look for the spider whom the wicked man said he had saved.

After spending some time looking for the spider, the two Officers finally located her in the Heavenly Garden, serving as the Goddess of Silk under Emperor Sakra' s (the King of Thirty Three Heavens in Buddhism) command.

"Yes, it is true that he saved my life," the Goddess of Silk told King Yama's Officers. "I am very grateful for this and therefore I am willing to help him get out of Hell"

"How would you do it?" asked the Officers.

"I will spin a long fine piece of silk and drop it from Heaven to Hell. Then he can hold on to it and I will lift him to Heaven. There is one condition: My silk looked thin, but very strong. He must have faith in it before he can be lifted to Heaven."

The scheme was approved by both Emperor Sakra and King Yama. A long thin piece of silk was produced by the Goddess and dropped all the way from Heaven to Hell. The man held on the silk and the Spider Goddess started to lift him out. Everything seemed to work well until ........

As the wicked man was being lifted out of Hell, he looked down and found hundreds and hundreds of Hell residents also held on to the piece of silk and tried to get out of Hell into Heaven. The weight of all those people was stretching the spider silk tremendously. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind, "Can I trust this thin piece of silk to hold so many people? If I cut the other Hell residents loose, this piece of silk need not bear so much weight and I am sure that I can to go to Heaven safely!" And he remembered he had a knife in his pocket.

He tried to reach his pocket to find his knife, but as he took his hand off the piece of silk, he fell back into Hell. Thus, while the other residents reached Heaven safely, he was unable to get out. The Goddess of Silk sighed and told the two Hell Officers, "Well. My piece of silk is very strong but elastic. It will not break no matter how many Hell residents held on to it. He did not have faith in it and did not want anybody else come to Heaven. There is little else I can do to bring him out."

Where does the expansive world lay?

The expansive world lies not in some distant place; it exists right where you are. That is why you need to win where you are right now. Today's victory is linked to your eternal victory.

Buddhism Day by Day Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 4/10

What is our mission as Buddhist?

Buddhism teaches that self-awareness arises through our encounters with the eternal. Buddhism urges us to be receptive to the most profound meaning of living, in the eternal process of cosmic evolution, and further urges that we accept, as our mission, compassionate behavior toward all beings.

Buddhism Day by Day

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 3/10

DINING WITH A GENERAL - a Zen Buddhism Koan

DINING WITH A GENERAL - a Zen Buddhism Koan

One day, an Army General invited the Buddhist Monk I-hsiu (literary, "One Rest") to his military head office for a dinner. I-hsiu was not accustomed to wearing luxurious clothings and so he just put on an old ordinary casual robe to go to the military base. To him, "form is void".

As he approached the base, two soldiers appeared before him and shouted, "Where does this beggar came from? Identify yourself! You do not have permission to be around here!"

"My name is I-hsiu Dharma Master. I am invited by your General for a supper."
The two soldiers examined the Monk closely and said, "You liar. How come my General invites such a shabby Monk to dinner. He invites the very solemn Venerable I-hsiu to our base for a great ceremony today, not you. Now, get out!"
I-hsiu was unable to convince the soldiers that he was indeed the invited guest, so he returned to the Temple and changed to a very formal solemn ceremonial robe for the dinner. And as he returned to the military base, the soldiers observed that his was such a great Buddhist Monk, let him in with honour.

At the dinner, I-hsiu sat in front of the table full of food but, instead of putting the food into his month, he picked up the food with his chopsticks and put it into his sleeves. The General was curious, and whispered to him, "This is very embarrassing. Do you want to take some food back to the Temple? I will order the cook to prepare some take out orders for you."

"No" replied the Monk. "When I came here, I was not allowed into the base by your soldiers until I wear this ceremonial robe. You do not invite me for a dinner. You invite my robe. Therefore, my robe is eating the food, not me."

The General, "......................."

Why must we spread friendship around the world?

Our individual circle of friendship is part of the global circle of friendship; it is one and the same. A drop of rain from the sky, a drop of water from the river, or a drop of water from the ocean are all just that—a drop of water—until they accumulate. The friends we make in our own small circle contribute to the spread of friendship around the world. Making one true friend is a step toward creating world peace.

Buddhism Day by Day
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 2/10

How to fill one's heart with flowers that shine brilliantly?

Time is constantly passing, one moment following fast upon the other. That's why it's so important to press forward boldly, without complaining or fretting. The person who looks to the future and keeps moving ahead is eternally youthful. Such a person's heart is filled with flowers and shines brilliantly.

Buddhism Day by Day
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 1/10

CARRYING A GIRL ACROSS A RIVER - a Zen Buddhism Koan

One day, a Buddhist Monk named I-hsiu (literary, "One Rest") took his young student to go to town to do some business. As they approached a small river, they saw a very pretty girl walking back and forth looking very concerned.
"Lady", asked I-hsiu, "you look very concerned. What is troubling you?"
"I want to cross the river to visit my dad who is very sick, but the bridge had fallen. Where is the next nearest bridge?"
"The next closest one is many miles away. But, don't worry, I will carry you across the river."
So I-hsiu carried the girl on his back and walked across the river stream. Once they reached the other side, he put her down and, saying farewell to each other, went on their ways separately.
Observing the whole thing, the young student was rather uneasy. He thought, "the Master taught us that women are man-eating tigers (see the story "Women are Tigers" in this site) yet today he carried a pretty girl on his back across a river! That does not make any sense. Isn't the Lord Buddha teach us to keep a distance from a stranger girl?"
Over the next couple of month, the whole thing was still bothering him in his mind. Finally, the student could not stand it any longer and raised the issue with I-hsiu.
Upon hearing this, I-hsiu bursted into laughter: "I had put down the girl ever since I had crossed the river. You must be very tired carrying her around for the last two months!"

What is knowledge and wisdom?

Knowledge gives rise to wisdom. If you like, knowledge is the pump; wisdom is the water that we get from the pump. If we can't obtain water, the pump is useless. At the same time, without knowledge, without the pump, we won't be able to obtain water.

Buddhism Day by Day
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 30/9

Who uses the mighty sword of the Lotus Sutra?

A sword is useless in the hands of a coward. The mighty sword of the Lotus Sutra must be wielded by one courageous in faith. Then one will be as strong as a demon armed with an iron staff. -Nichiren

Buddhism Day by Day
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 29/9

BUDDHIST ARTWORKS - a Zen Buddhism Koan

The Buddhist Monk I-hsiu (literary, "One Rest") had a lay follower who was a very rich but mean merchant. One day, he invited I-hsiu to his home to look at his collection of antiques.

After the show off, the lay follower asked I-hsiu, "What do you think of my rare collection?"

"There is nothing unusual about your collection. They cannot be compared to some of the Buddhist Artworks in my temple. These artworks are priceless because they were brought here from India via the silk road two thousand years ago."

"Really?" the rich man was so happy to hear that, "such artworks are indeed priceless. Can I add them to my collection? Give me a price and I will buy them all."

"They are not for sale, but, since you are so devoted to the Lord Buddha, I will give them to you, for 3,000 ounces of silver," replied I-hsiu.

"Ok. I will take it. Here is the money and I will pick it up tomorrow at the temple."

The next day, when the rich lay follower came to the temple, I-hsiu took him to the back of the temple and showed him a cat's meal bowl and a dog's drinking bowl. "These are all yours."

"What!? Two bowls for your pets? How can you call these "Buddhist Artworks" that worth 3,000 ounces of silver?"

I-hsiu bursted into laughter, "These are indeed priceless Buddhist Artworks from India. Normally, I will not sell for 30,000 ounces of gold. Now you get them for a bargain price of 3,000 ounces of silver, that is because of your good karma!"

On hearing this, the rich man had nothing to say. He just returned home quietly, with much groans inside his heart.

Very soon, there was a news that the rich man had donated a big sum of money to the local temple. Overnight, he became a celebrity. Everyone in the village treated him with honour and respect. Where ever he went, he was cheered upon by the local villagers. Finally, he understood what was meant by "Buddhist Artwork", which is indeed priceless.