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Once upon a time, there was a small village in Japan, where there lived an old monk with his young disciple. The old monk loved to play chess very much and whenever he was engaged in a game, he would forget about the time.
One day, someone in a neighbouring village passed away and the deceased’s family invited the old monk to go over and conduct a Dharma service. The old monk happened to be playing chess then, so he said, “I’ll go after this game.” However, he continued to play one round after another, and it wasn’t until afternoon that he stopped playing and hurried off to the neighbouring village.
By the time the Dharma service ended, twilight had set in. To travel back to his temple, the old monk had to pass through the woods and cross some hills. Concerned about the elderly monk’s safety and that it would be very late by the time he reached the temple, the deceased’s family invited him to stay overnight in their house. But thinking that his young disciple would feel scared being alone in the temple, the old monk declined the offer. The family then prepared some noodles for him and gave him a gift of money. After receiving the offerings, the monk quickly set off.
Being Stalked By a “Fox”
The sky had turned dark when the old monk was passing through the woods. Suddenly, he heard some noises behind him. He turned around to have a look, and saw a very skinny dog with yellow and black fur. The old monk tried to drive it away, but it just wouldn’t leave, and the two stared at each other for a moment. Not wanting to delay any longer, the old monk continued walking, with the dog trailing close behind.
Then, the monk came to a village and stopped by a lamp post where a few children were spinning their tops. Pointing at the dog, he asked the kids: “Does anyone of you know whose dog this is?” But none of them knew the answer. So the monk continued his journey, and the dog continued to follow him. At that time, it had gotten so dark that the monk could hardly see the road ahead clearly. As he still needed to cross a small hill before reaching his temple, he thought he would need a lamp to light the way.
Hence, the old monk went to a shop whose owner was someone he knew. He wished to borrow a lamp from the owner but felt that it would be rude to just approach her out of the blue. So he decided to buy something from her first and asked if she still had any mochi for sale. The shop owner replied that there were only five pieces left, and the monk said he wanted to buy all of them.
After the owner had wrapped up the mochi for him, the old monk then asked if she had a lamp that he could borrow. The owner lent him a hand-held lamp and also gave him a candle. Then he asked her another question: “Do you know if anyone living nearby keeps a dog?” “I have no idea. But I’ve heard of a fox hanging around the path you took just now, and it often came out to play tricks on people.” After hearing that, the old monk became suspicious of the dog.
Holding the mochi in one hand and the lamp in the other, he hurried on, and the dog continued to follow him. Thinking of what the shop owner had said, the old monk couldn’t help but suspect that the dog was the fox in disguise. So he became frightened as he walked on and quickened his pace. As he was walking, he suddenly noticed that the packet of mochi he was holding in his hand was gone and wondered if it was the fox that stole it.
The more the old monk thought, the more suspicious and frightened he became. As he approached the temple, he began calling his young disciple’s name aloud: “Jing Guan! Jing Guan!” Hearing his master calling him, the young disciple quickly opened the door. The old monk turned around and saw that the dog was still behind him, so he said to his disciple: “Quick, go and get a broom! There’s a fox behind me.”
The young disciple thus went to get a broom. When he returned, he looked at the dog and said, “This dog has something in its mouth.” The old monk looked closely and saw that it was his packet of mochi. “Bring it here, quickly!” he said. His disciple leisurely walked to the dog, patted its head with one hand, and took the mochi from its mouth with the other and gave it to his master.
“That’s a fox! Aren’t you afraid?” the old monk exclaimed, anxiously. But his disciple calmly said, “It’s really well-behaved. It doesn’t look like a fox.” As the old monk was still suspicious of the dog, he asked his disciple to use a broom to drive it away.
When the old monk finally settled his mind, he asked his disciple, “When I called you just now, you seemed to come down from the bell tower.” “Yes. I was very bored alone,” said the youngster. “Wouldn’t you feel bored at the bell tower?” asked his master. The young monk replied, “I could hit the bell there. The ringing sound made me feel as though you were talking to me, so I felt calm and peaceful.”
Hearing that, the old monk’s heart skipped a beat. He turned back to see if the dog was still there, but it was already gone. Then he said to his disciple, “Jing Guan, go and lay some straw at the side of the Buddha hall.” “What for?” asked the young monk. The old monk said, “It’s for the dog. It is not a fox. It’s all skin and bones, so it must have been starving. I dropped my packet of mochi on the ground on my way back, but it picked it up and brought it back unopened! Poor dog, it must be very hungry. Quick, go and find it, and bring it back.”
Keeping the Dharma in the Heart
The old monk felt very remorseful and thought that he shouldn’t have been influenced by the words of the shop owner and suspected that the dog was a fox. While alone in the temple, the young disciple went to hit the bell when he felt bored and regarded its ringing sound as his Master speaking to him. His innocence and simple wisdom truly made the old monk reflect on himself with remorse. He realised that he should hold the Buddha’s teachings firmly in his heart and apply them in his life so he wouldn’t give rise to afflictions when he encountered problems.
In learning Buddhism, we must cultivate precepts, samadhi and wisdom. By following the precepts, we will avoid committing wrongs. By cultivating samadhi, we will not easily give rise to suspicion and doubt. Having wisdom, we will be able to distinguish right from wrong.
All living beings have the same innate Buddha nature. Though young, the disciple possessed pure, natural wisdom. The dog was honest and steadfast, and the old monk was brave to repent for his wrongdoing ─ repentance brings purity. Hence, in this remote mountain village, one could also hear the rippling of the pure stream of Dharma.
Extracted from “Tan Gu Shuo Jin”《谈古说今》, a compilation of stories told by Master Cheng Yen
Translated by the Tzu Chi Singapore translation team
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