Summary
Once upon a time, a monk lived in the remote Shigi Mountain. One day, he discovered a beautiful mountain that resembled a bowl and was guided by a voice to climb it. "This way, monk, over here!" The monk enjoyed meditating in the comfortable surroundings. However, as winter approached, food ran out, and he grew thin. Days went by as he worried, "Will I be able to survive here?"
One winter day, there was a sudden knock on the door. "Who could it be?" He opened the door but found no one there. Then, a bowl that he had found after a long time flew in, spilling rice everywhere. "What a surprise! The bowl has brought rice." The monk was grateful for this fortune and managed to get through the winter safely.
Meanwhile, a greedy wealthy man living at the foot of the mountain noticed that rice was decreasing in his granary and chased after the bowl. "Did that person steal my rice?" One day, he waited for the bowl to enter the granary and closed the door. "I've finally caught it!" But then, there was a tremor like an earthquake, and the granary floated into the sky. "Oh no! My granary!"
Following the chase, he found the monk's temple and said to the monk, "I believe the bowl is yours, but the granary is mine. Return it to me." The monk replied, "Since it flew in here on its own, it cannot be denied that it's yours. Take it back as you wish."
The wealthy man was in despair and pleaded with the monk, "It's too big for me to carry alone." The monk placed a rice bale on the bowl, which then flew up, and more rice bales followed suit. "What a marvelous thing!" The people looked up at the sky in amazement.
Thus, the monk was able to continue his simple life in the mountains, and the wealthy man became satisfied with just a little rice. They expressed gratitude to each other and lived peacefully. This is a story passed down at Shigisan Chogosonshi Temple in Nara.
