| |
high priest laughed. He said, "You are certainly insane. It was just a wooden statue, it was not a buddha!"
And Tanka Tennen said, "Aha! So it was not the Buddha! And the night is still long and very cold, and you have so many wooden statues; just bring one or two more."
The high priest said, "You are a very dangerous fellow! I cannot allow you to stay in the temple." And he forced Tanka Tennen outside the temple in the middle of the night.
It was cold winter, icy cold, and Tanka Tennen said, "What are you doing? You are my high priest, and you are throwing me out. Just to keep your wooden statues safe, you are throwing the buddha out!"
But the high priest did not listen, he just pushed him out and closed the doors.
And in the morning when he opened the doors, Tanka Tennen was sitting by the side of the road by a milestone. He had collected a few wildflowers, and he had put those wildflowers on the milestone, and he was sitting there reciting a beautiful mantra that the disciples of Buddha used to recite before him: Buddham sharanam gachchhami -- I go to the feet of the buddha; Sangham sharanam gachchhami -- I go to the feet of those who are the commune of the awakened one; Dhammam sharanam gachchhami -- I go to the feet of the ultimate truth.
The priest said, "Listen, you burned my Buddha -- that was an insane act. Now you are doing even more mad behavior. This is a milestone, not a Buddha, and you have put flowers on it, and you are going to the feet of this milestone!"
Tanka Tennen said, "It is the same, just an excuse. You have wooden statues as an excuse, I have this stone. Hidden in it there is a stone Buddha. If some sculptor takes out all the unnecessary pieces, a Buddha will appear. Any excuse will do. I burned one of your excuses and you were so angry. This is just the same as your wooden statue; and neither does this stone have Buddha's bones.
"I was simply wanting, in the early morning sun, with this beautiful breeze, and flowers fragrant all around, and the birds chirping and making their joyful sounds... I have to show my gratitude to the man who is the source of my family. Without him, perhaps,
|
|
|