Jing Jing Ding - The Story of the Three Buddhist Monks. Based on a Traditional Chinese Folk Tale

Based on a Traditional Chinese Folk Tale

by

Jing Jing Ding

Illustrations by Nelson Daboud

in Memory of my Mother J.J.D.

Copyright 1996 Jing Jing Ding (text)

Copyright 1996 Nelson Daboud (illustrations)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproducd, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press Limited. Permission to photocopy should be requested from the Canadian Reprography Collective.

Editor: Nigel Wood

Designer: Andy Tong

Printer: Metrolitho

The publisher wishes to acknowledge the generous assistance and ongoing support of The Canada Council, The Book Publishing Industry Development Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, and The Ontario Arts Council.

Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in the text (including the illustrations). The author and publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any reference or credit in subsequent editions.

J. Kirk Howard, Publisher

96 97 98 99 00 M 5 4 3 2 1

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Ding, Jing Jing

The story of the three Buddhist monks: a traditional Chinese folk tale

ISBN 1-895681-11-1

1. Tales China. I. Daboud, Nelson. II. Title.

PS8557.I5889S86 1996 J398.2O95107 C96-932093-0

PZ8.1.D55St 1996

Glossary

The Story Of Three Buddhist Monks

In Ancient China, a little monk named Chin Lee took a trip to the holy mountain Wutai to worship at the statue of Buddha.

He walked all day and all night, only stopping to beg for food or to have a short nap.

By the tenth day, he was so exhausted that he decided to rest somewhere for a week to gain some energy for the rest of the journey.

He was delighted when he found an empty temple on a mountain and started to clean it up right away.

After he finished his work, he felt very thirsty.

The river is at the foot of the mountain, he thought, so I will make two buckets and a shoulder pole to fetch the water

He cut a long tree branch to make the shoulder pole, then sawed some logs into small planks to make the buckets. Soon, the two buckets and the shoulder pole were ready for use.

He went down the mountain and fetched two full buckets of water. With the fresh water, he cooked a dinner and washed himself. Before he went to bed, he treated himself to a cup of green tea.

Wow, what a comfortable life! he said to himself, even if it is a little hit lonely sometimes.

The second day, a tall thin monk named He Zuo arrived at the temple.

Little Brother,He Zuoasked,may I stay overnight with you?

Sure! said Chin Lee. He was very happy to have a companion on this deserted mountain.

Chin Lee and He Zuo talked for a while like old friends. Then He Zuo said, I am very thristy, Brother Chin, would you please get me some water?

Chin Lee became very upset. Why should I? he said, you should get it yourself!

But you need water too, He Zuo argued, and you have to get some water for yourself anyway!

He Zuo thought that he should he served because he was a guest and he was tired after walking all day.

Chin Lee believed that since he had made the buckets as well as the shoulder pole and had kindly let He Zuo stay, it should he He Zuos turn to fetch the water.

They argued and argued until their throats were so dry that they felt like they were on fire. They realised that either they had to get water right away or they would both soon faint from thirst.

Well, to be fair and square, we should both go, they finally agreed.

They put one bucket in the middle of the pole with each end supported on their shoulders. Because He Zuo was tall and Chin Leee was short, the water spilled out of the bucket along the way. By the time they got back, the bucket was only half-full.

This only left enough water for cooking, so that neither of the monks could wash up before bed.

On the third afternoon, a very strong-looking monk arrived at the temple. Hi, my name is Yong Gan. May I stay overnight with you, brothers? he asked.

Sure! they said. Chin Lee and He Zuo were delighted. Now we have someone strong to get the water for us! they thought to themselves.