Summary
Once upon a time, there was an old monk living in a mountain temple in a certain village. One day, a traveler appeared and requested a place to stay for the night. The old monk said, "That's fine, but I would like to hear about an experience that remains in your heart."
The traveler replied, "I was once a boatman, and I was thrown into the sea after being attacked by pirates. I swam desperately to the shore."
The old monk thought for a moment and began to speak, "When I was young, I was a pirate. One day, when we attacked a boat, I saw a boatman and an old monk. I commanded, 'What a perfect prey! Let's take their cargo!'"
The boatman begged for his life, saying, "I will give you everything on this boat. My elderly mother is sick, and I am on my way to visit her!"
The old monk continued to chant as if nothing was happening, and when I threw that monk into the sea, he kept chanting even as he sank several times. I shouted, "What a persistent fellow! Finish him off!" but the children were supporting the old monk.
"I was surprised, saying, 'Look! A child is supporting the monk!'" My underlings, not noticing the invisible children, said, "I don't see any children." Feeling uneasy, I chose to help the old monk.
The old monk returned to the boat and asked me, "Are you finishing your journey and returning to the capital?" He answered, "I am just a foolish monk living in the countryside." When I asked, "Who was that child supporting you in the sea?" the old monk said, "I have never seen such a child. It is noble to continue chanting the sutras."
Moved by those words, I asked, "Are you still planning to go to Enryakuji?" The old monk replied, "I intend to return to the temple of a foolish monk in the countryside." However, when I said, "I wish to accompany you," the old monk pondered and replied, "Since I have been chanting the sutras since I was seven, those children are believed to be the ten guardian deities who protect those who chant the sutras."
For the first time, I understood the dignity of the sutras and resolved to learn the sutras from this old monk. I vowed to myself, "Even if I am thought to be crazy, my determination will not change," and I accompanied the old monk to his temple to become a disciple. Thus, I continued to chant the sutras to atone for my past wrongdoings.
