（Photo source：Pexels）
Decades ago, in a small coastal village in Japan, a very touching story took place—
One July, a Dharma assembly was held at a temple at the foot of the mountain. All the villagers went to attend, except for an elderly man in his eighties and his grandson who lived at the mountain top, as it was inconvenient for them to travel far.
Near dusk, the old man went out for a walk. At that moment, gusts of mountain wind blew by, and the old man felt something strange — the wind felt sticky against his body, unlike usual. Suddenly, he sensed an earthquake. Although it was not strong, it was different from usual quakes — it happened slowly and swayed gently. He had never experienced such a strange earthquake before.
The old man remembered that when he was a child, his grandfather told him that if a big earthquake happened far away, they would feel tremors here too. He casually looked toward the sea... Huh? Why was the sea water turning black? And the waves were unlike normal — usually waves roll in from far away, one after another, then recede; now it looked like a solid wall, coming closer and closer!
This is serious! This must be what grandfather said — a tsunami caused by a great earthquake! The old man hurriedly called his grandson to bring a torch, then without hesitation set fire to the just-harvested rice and piles of dry grass. Quickly, the fire spread to the warehouse...
At that time, all the villagers were gathered by the sea, watching the changing colour of the water. When they saw the mountain was on fire, they rushed up to help put out the fire. Unexpectedly, the old man stopped them from extinguishing it. More villagers kept coming up the mountain until the entire village was there, and only then did the old man allow them to put out the fire.
The villagers asked why there was a fire, and why the old man stopped them from putting it out. The old man's grandson fearfully said, "Grandpa is crazy! Grandpa is crazy! He keeps setting fires!" Then the old man pointed toward the sea and said, "Look!" Everyone turned their heads and saw the scene before them — all were shocked and speechless... The sea water surged toward the shore like thousands of soldiers charging, and all the houses at the foot of the mountain looked like tiny matchboxes floating on the water. After several tens of minutes, the sea slowly receded, but all the houses had been swept into the sea.
Only then did the villagers understand that the old man had burned all his rice and warehouse to save everyone!
We must always listen carefully, observe, and think deeply, so that when emergencies happen, we can use our wisdom to help ourselves and others get through difficulties together.
Translated by Yang Yu Jia
Share 
