EXCHANGING DISCOURSE FOR LODGING (REVISED BY BOST2026)
Monks,
especially wandering monks, do not carry cash on their person; therefore, a
custom developed for the provision of adequate lodging. The traveller was
required to undertake and win a debate about Buddhism with the inhabitants of
the temple. In the event of a rare defeat, he will have to move on. For this reason,
most temples only made a token attempt at winning the debate thus preserving
the custom.
01
It so
happens that in a temple at the far reaches of the country there dwelt two
brother monks, passing the days in perfect harmony. This despite the fact they
were vastly different in temperament and intelligence. The elder one was quite
learned and wise, while the slow-witted younger one was unpredictable, moody
and had only one good eye.
At dusk on a
tempestuous day, when the sky was riddled with ominous clouds that threatened
downpours any minute, a wandering monk knocked at the gate, seeking refuge for
the night. A novice showing him to a room carried his proper challenge to a
debate about the sublime teachings back to the brother monks.
The elder
brother was much fatigued from diligent study of the scriptures and his heavy
chores on that day, so he asked his younger brother to take his place this
once. On the point of exiting the room however, not entirely trusting in
other’s abilities, he cautioned, “Request the silent discourse.”
Nodding, the
young monk left. Meeting the traveller at the shrine later, he sat down and
started the silent dialogue.
02A
Sometime
later the traveller rose with resignation and sought the older monk to offer
his farewells. “Your younger brother is a truly wonderful fellow. He defeated
me proper.”
The weather
outside had gotten worse as the torrential rains, driven by high winds, shook
the walls of the temple. The elder brother was sorry to see him go but was at
the same time amazed at the unexpected outcome. He quietly said. “Can you relay
the dialogue to me?”
02
“Well,”
explained the travelling monk, “first I held up one finger, representing
Buddha, the enlightened one. Your younger brother held up two fingers together,
signifying Buddha and his teaching. I held up three fingers, representing
Buddha, his teaching, and his followers, living the harmonious life. He is
truly brilliant; your brother is, for he then shook his clenched fist in my
face, indicating that all three come from one realization.
03
Thus, he won
the debate fair and square and so I now take my leave.” With this, the
traveller reluctantly rose and left the premises.
04
“There is
more to this than meets the eye.” The elder monk mused when, just then, his
younger brother burst into the room.
“Now where
is that fellow!” He asked irately.
“Calm
yourself brother,” The elder indicated the seat across, “I understand you won
the debate fair and square.”
“Won
nothing!” The other huffed, “As soon as I catch him, I am going to give him a
sound thrashing!”
“Is that any
way to be?” The elder chastised him gently, sporting a bemused smile. “Come
now, take a long breath, sit down and calmly tell me what was said.”
05
After a
brief hesitation, the younger brother did as he was bid. “Why, the second he
saw me he held up one finger, insinuating that I have only one eye. As if I
needed to be told. Since he was a stranger, wanting to be polite, I overlooked
this and held up two of my fingers, congratulating him that he has two eyes. But
the ill-mannered wretch held up three fingers, suggesting that between us we
have three eyes. Would you believe it! I was so enraged that I held up my fist,
in readiness to punch him, but the lout ran out and that ended it!”
All of us at one time or other have come upon these wise
words: “Do not judge a book by its cover.”
Yet in present fast-paced society, one often rushes headlong
into things, making erroneous judgements from offhand, or, ill conceived notions,
then follow the wayward paths that lead one astray. One would fare far better
if cool heads prevailed and instead, one was open-minded and not so heavily reliant
on the first impressions.
Here is a short parable (fable, folktale) that whimsically (quirkily)
though efficaciously illustrates this point.
01-LEON THOMKEN ON EXCAVATION TRIP - JP
Once upon a time there was a brilliant young geologist named
Leon Thomken, a handsome young man with long white, blond hair, and brilliant
blue eyes, athletic in built and one with avid (fervent, ardent) thirst for
knowledge. Leon, when he was still in his early twenties, had married his
childhood sweetheart June, whom he had respected and loved very dearly.
02-LEON THOMKEN MARRIES HIS CHILDHOOD SWEETHEART JUNE- JP
Their first five years of marriage was a blissful one,
though Leon felt increasingly more restless; noting this, June encouraged her
husband to pursue his passion. Leon did not need any persuading, he quickly secured
three years of paid sabbatical from the University where he’d been a valued professor,
and again began his travels far and wide, sometimes, overseeing exciting new geological
finds (digs).
03- JUNE GETS SICK WHILE LEON IS AWAY- JP
Unfortunately, one chilly winter season, while Leon was
away, June had succumbed to fevers and quickly passed away, leaving their
infant son behind for him to care alone. Leon now in his late twenties (twenty-nine)
was devastated and was heartbroken by this terrible loss as her absence had
left a huge void in his life which even his infant son (six-month-old) Kori
could not fill.
04- LEON THOMKEN IS BEREFT-LEFT ALONE WITH HIS INFANT SON.JP
Subsequently, bereft Leon entrusted the baby to the care of a
competent nanny and resumed with his explorations and geological digs- choosing
now to voyage to different continents, the farthest regions for his quests
(hunts) and, intentionally (purposely) staying away long durations from home.
Returning from one of his routine excavations in high
altitudes (the Himalayas), he had chanced upon an exceedingly rare find, an
innocuous item that was half buried in the riverbank alongside a rushing
turbulent stream.
To the untrained eye, the object resembled a bland ordinary ice
chunk with a slightly pinkish hue, only it was solid as a rock. But Leon having
at once recognized its true value carefully stored it away until he could
acquire a very elaborate box to contain it. Finally, in an old antique shop
five blocks down where he resided, he found precisely what he sought; this
rosewood box had jewels inlaid on its side with brilliant patterns of stars and
constellations carved in gold and silver all the way around it. Inside was
lined with the finest plush, soft burgundy velvet.
05- LEON PUTS HIS PRIZED ROCK IN SPECIAL JEWEL ENCRUSTED BOX- JP
At the end of his carefree adventurous days, when he was
much older and his age was about mid thirties, by then having grown independently
(wealthy) opulent, Leon decided to settle down and remarry in order to provide
his precious young boy Kori (now four and a half years old) with a more stable environment.
A pretty young widow Serafina Marko, with a single child of her own, appeared
to be the most suitable candidate and so before long they were married in an
elaborate ceremony. Unfortunately, her true nature soon surfaced, and he
discovered their underlying incompatibility.
06- LEON, SERAFINA AND HER DAUGHTER, AND KORI- JP
Struggling with his inner dissatisfaction over the years
Leon suffered some setbacks and fell on tough times. On the urgings of his
second wife Serafina, he parted with most of his precious possession in order
to keep up with her and her daughter’s prodigal (profligate) spending, social
functions and other such extravagant demands, but always resisted the idea of
selling his rare find.
07- LEON ALLOWS KORI TO HANDLE HIS PRIZE ROCK - JP
Once on a quiet day alone in his study with his son, who
also shared his interest in rare and unusual rocks, Leon had allowed Kori to
handle (examine, touch) the pinkish stone. “You like it too, don’t you son?” He
had asked affectionately and, with enigmatic bemused smile on his lips before he
reached out to retrieve the item from his son’s palm.
“Yes, papa, I do, it is such an interesting stone. Tell me
again how you found it.” In truth Kori loved the story more than the rock
itself and never got tired of hearing it. His father equally enthused, always
obliged him with such colourful elaboration. This day at the end of his
narration however, his father looked grim and said, “I ‘m sorry you had to
suffer such unwarranted hardships on my account, but I could not bring myself
to part with it. “He looked up earnestly then and said the strangest thing.
“Actually, I have been saving it for you. “With a shrug he then arose and,
after carefully placing it into that beautiful box again, walked over and
promptly placed it in the wall-safe concealed behind an obscure painting
hanging above his desk.
When some years later Leon fell mysteriously ill and died
intestate his holdings and the affairs of the entire estate were bestowed upon
his wife Serafina. She lost no time in selling the property, the land and
everything of value, including the precious box that, by the way, fetched a handsome
price. But as for the lump of stone inside, before selling the box, she’d
simply taken it out and on the verge of throwing it away, after a second
thought, roughly thrust it into the palm of her stepson and said, “Now, don’t
go complaining that I haven’t allotted (given) you any keepsake (token, memento)
from your dear departed, but then she chewed on the words, ‘your good for
nothing’, dad.”
08- SERAFINA GIVES KORI PRESUMED WORTHLESS ROCK AS MOMENTO FROM HIS FATHER
Kori had remembered well what his father had said that day
long ago, though he had never shared this with anyone. And so, after thanking
her, he graciously accepted this paltry gift from his stepmother Serafina and
happily tucked it away in his pocket.
Predictably, she had next sought to rid herself of the
burden of Kori; therefore, she sent her orphaned stepson packing to a distant
paternal relative. Within a year Serafina was married off to an affluent
merchant and moved to a far away country.
09- KORY AND ACCOUNTANT DANSEN-JP
The resilient boy Kori, meanwhile, grew up without much incident
(with nothing worth mentioning), in the modest dwelling of his father’s second cousin
Dansen, a confirmed bachelor, a dreary (dull) bearded accountant. Dansen had
inherited from his father an extensive library, who had collected rare, historical,
and geological tomes; he was not an unreasonable uncle and seeing Kori’s keen
interest, allowed his charge to make use of this highly neglected room. Kori
spent his days, overall ignored by Dansen and the household staff, despite his
keen, brilliant mind and affable character traits, reading extensively, sometimes
copying (drawing) images, designs, and inventions onto the pages of his secret,
small book.
One mundane school day, Kori having completed his assigned
composition earlier than the rest of his classmates- to alleviate his boredom, he
had quietly retrieved the rock which he had always carried in his pocket, to again
look at it. As the high-altitude winds whisked away the clouds and allowed the
midday sun’s rays to reach the classroom, therefore struck the object in Kori’s
hand, the unusual, brilliant reflections, enlivened by the rays of the sun, at
once drew the attention of his Geography teacher, who then demanded Kori to
bring forth the object to him.
10- KORI ADMIRES STONE- HIS TEACHER ASKS TO SEE IT-JP
The rest as they say is history. The piece of rock proved to
be an uncut, priceless pink diamond that fetched a fortune at an auction,
affording the poor little boy comfort and riches beyond anyone’s imaginings.
