There was a secret Buddhist sect known as the “White Lotus.” This group was often at odds with the royalty and for that its members were hunted. This story is about a master who was from the Shansi province and was a follower of Hsu Hung-ju. Unfortunately, it has been so long that the man’s name has been forgotten. However, many people were fascinated by his talents and served as disciples for him.
One day the master placed two jars in a room, one on top of the other and told his disciple to watch over them but not to look in. The master then left, leaving his disciple alone to accomplish his task. After a few hours the disciple became very curious and decided to take a look. He looked into the lower jar and saw that it was filled with water and there was a small boat. He playfully pushed it and nearly caused it to tip over. He put the jars back where he found them and waited for his master to come home. Shortly later he returned and scolded his disciple for looking in the pot. The disciple tried to deny it but the master yelled at him telling him that by playing with the boat his own ship nearly sank.
A few days later the master had to leave on another journey. He asked the same disciple to watch over a candle that he placed in a room and under no circumstances was he to let the flame go out. After the master left the disciple watched it diligently until he was so tired that he could no longer stay awake. He laid down for a quick nap and when he awoke the flame was out. He quickly relit the candle and tried to pretend like nothing was wrong but the master scolded him, saying that because of him he had to walk in darkness for hours.
One day the master discovered that one of his followers had fallen in love with one of his concubines. The master kept quiet about it but told that follower to go and feed his pigs. The follower was transformed into a pig as soon as he walked into the pen. The master then sold the pig to a local butcher, the follower was killed and no one knew.
Sometime later the follower’s father came looking for his son. He was told that the follower had left and no one knew where he had gone but one of the disciples found out the truth of what happened to the follower, he informed the follower’s father of his son’s fate. Soldiers came and arrested the master and his family. On the road to the palace, where the master would be tried, the caravan encountered a hideous giant. From his carriage the master told the guards that his wife knew how to fight this beast so they let her out to face it. As soon as she stood before it she was gobbled up. Then the master said that his son, who was a better magician than his mother, could stop this giant. The son stood before the monster and he too was immediately eaten. The master cried out to the guards to let him avenge his family. The guards were so scared that they did what he said. No sooner had the master stood before the giant he too was swallowed whole. The giant then walked away as if nothing had happened.
Diana Tierney - Diana is a freelance writer with a strong background in mythology and folklore. She has a bachelor degree in Sociology. When she is not ...
