Once upon a time there was a poisonous dragon in a village. It threatened the inhabitants there all the time. They tried to escape from the village, but they couldn’t because of the dangerous dragon. So, they invited 500 monks who had practised meditation a lot in order to expel the dragon out of the village. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t expel the dragon. These monks were rather threatened by it as well and they ran away after all. Then, a monk who looked very humble came to the village and offered to help them. The villagers didn’t expect much of him, having seen 500 monks being repulsed by the dragon instead of expelling it. However, as soon as the monk just flicked one of his fingers, the dragon disappeared perfectly.
Student: “How could the humble monk expel the dragon although the five hundred monks failed?”
Master: “Because of karma.”
Commentary:
Don’t think that a poisonous dragon appears to be dangerous and cruel, and the Buddha appears to be handsome and compassionate.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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