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by Yuan Mei |
| A scholar by the name of Zhou from Hangzhou was walking with
the grand Daoist master Zhang one day. The two men stopped at an inn in
Baoding and there appeared a beautiful woman who knelt on the steps in
front of the grand master. She looked as if she was praying.
The scholar then asked the grand master what had happened between them and the master replied, “That woman is a fox fairy. She was just asking me permission to use some incense from the human world, that's all.” The scholar asked in reply, “Did you grant her wish?” Grand Master Zhang replied, “She has been cultivating her spirit for years and I can detect a distinct spiritual aura around her. I am rather concerned that, if I give her some of the potent incense she requested, she'll have the magical power to turn herself into an object of worship.” Now Scholar Zhou rather fancied the looks of the young woman, so he persuaded Zhang to grant her permission to use the incense. The grand master responded, “You have put me in a very awkward position, as I have no desire to deny your wishes. I'll give her permission to use this incense for three years, but she must receive no more after this period is over.” Having thus decided, Grand Master Zhang ordered one of his priests to put the agreement in writing on his yellow paper and pass it on to the young woman. Three years later, just after Scholar Zhou had failed the imperial examinations, he made his way from the capital and passed through Suzhou. There he heard that on a nearby mountain, there was a temple to the goddess Guanyin where miraculous events were happening. In his despondent state he decided to make his way up to the temple to offer some prayers and leave a few offerings. At the base of the mountain he made inquiries and was told by several fellow pilgrims, “This particular Guanyin achieves remarkable results, but you have to walk up, you can’t go by sedan chair. Everyone who tries to go by sedan chair encounters problems and ends up walking.” This advice seemed too fanciful for out scholar to believe, so he set off in a sedan chair. But after a mere ten or so paces, the poles on the chair snapped and he tumbled to the ground. Fortunately, he wasn’t injured. Rather chastened, he continued on foot. On reaching the temple, Zhou could see it was well patronized. Offerings and incense filled the altars. It appeared the so-called Guanyin was seated behind some silk drapes, which concealed her from view. When Scholar Zhou asked the reason for this strange custom, an attendant monk replied, “Our Guanyin is so beautiful that we fear people will be driven to unholy thoughts and deeds if they look upon her form.” Scholar Zhou was not satisfied with this answer and insisted upon seeing the Guanyin without the curtains. The voluptuous vision he saw before him really was quite unlike any other Guanyin he had ever seen. The longer he looked, the more familiar the face appeared. Finally it dawned on him that this was the same woman on whose behalf he had interceded three years previously at the inn. Outraged, he pointed at the statue, saying, “Three years ago I spoke on your behalf in good faith, now you have this bounty of offerings and incense and what do I receive in return? Not only did you not thank me, but today you also broke my sedan chair. What sort of gratitude is that? “Besides, the grand master gave you permission to receive offerings only for a period of three years. That time has already passed and yet you are still malingering here. Have you forgotten the agreement you made?” Before he could complete his tirade the statue fell to the ground and was smashed to bits. The monks were incredulous. They waited until Scholar Zhou had left Suzhou and then raised funds to rebuild the statue. The new Guanyin, however, was not able to perform the remarkable deeds of the previous statue. |
