In ancient times, Bodhisattva Dizang came to the human world and found that people at that time no longer believed in God. He then decided that he must find one who still believed in God and save him.

In order to look for the person who still believed in God, Bodhisattva Dizang then transformed himself into a beggar and begged for food from one village to another. No one gave him food and no one still worshipped God. When he came to the entrance of a village, he saw an old grandmother burning incense in front of a Buddha statue. He then went up and begged for food. The grandmother hesitated, " I only have this bowl of rice left. You can take half of it and I will make offerings to Buddha with the other half". Seeing the grandmother so sincere and kind-hearted, Bodhisattva pointed to a pair of stone lions and told the grandmother the following before he left, "Whenever you see the eyes of this pair of stone lions turn red, it is the time of a big flood. You have to hurry up and run to the top of the hill and you will be safe." This kind grandmother spread this news around the village. However, no one believed her. The villagers mocked and scolded her instead. They said that she was insane and superstitious. How on earth could the eyes of stone lions possibly turn red? Disregarding the sarcasm, the old grandmother begged the villagers to believe her.

The grandmother firmly kept these words in mind and would take a look at the eyes of the stone lions every day. One day, several mischievous villagers came up with an idea. "Let's play a game with the old lady. We'll paint the eyes of the stone lions with red dye." The grandma saw the eyes of the stone lions had really turned red. She anxiously shouted to the villagers, "Hurry up and run. The flood is coming." Upon seeing the grandmother so hysterically worried, people all laughed out loud and made fun of her. She saw there was no alternative and then ran to the hill by herself. By the time she reached the top of the hill, she looked back only to find out that the whole village was submerged by a flood and laughter was nowhere to be found.

A person who advises you to be kind

March 2000

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Category: Traditional Culture