A Good Beating (A Tibetan Buddhist Story)

Once in Tibet there dwelt a kind old monk who lived in a clean and simple cave. Every day he said his prayers, meditated for long hours, and often repeated, "Om mani padme hum." He lived a very simple life and had only one valuable posses-sions set of silver bowls in which he offered clean water daily to the deities.

Near the monk, in a small village, lived a thief ever eager for wealth. One day, he saw the old man pouring water into his fine bowls. From then on, the thief began to watch the old man, planning how to steal the silver bowls.

At last one night he crept up to the cave. He heard the old man saying his various prayers, and then there was silence. Seeing only a small light, the thief felt sure that the man was asleep. Quietly he crawled into the cave, closer and closer to the silver bowls. He glanced at the old man. He was sitting, but his eyes were closed.

"Old fool," thought the thief "He fell asleep while trying to pray." Quickly, he reached out to take the bowls when suddenly something hit his arm.

"I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha. I take refuge in the Triple Gem," said the old monk loudly, hitting the thief with a prayer book. For the monk had been meditating, not sleeping, and thus he saw the thief approach. Now the old man was not greedy, and didn't care for possessions. Yet he knew that the thief would be in greater trouble if he continued to steal. So the monk hit the man, while saying those words, to help save him.

Much surprised and holding his aching arm, the thief fled from the cave. He ran toward his home when all of a sudden great and terrible shapes began to form around him. He was soon surrounded by horrible spirits and monsters. Closer and closer they came in the dark, making frightful groans and moans. As he shivered in terror, he remembered the words of the monk. He called them out in a weak voice, "I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha. I take refuge in the Triple Gem."

The shapes suddenly weakened. Some disappeared, others grew dim. Bolder now, he repeated, "I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha. I take refuge in the Triple Gem." More of them fled. He said the words one last time to find all the creatures gone.

From that day on, the thief was a changed man. He began to repeat those words often. Then he started to go to the old monk, to learn other prayers, to be taught more about his faith. The thief was a quick pupil and when the old man died, the former thief moved into his cave. Soon he had pupils of his own and he led them to the pure light of Buddhism. And thus he lived a long and rich life in that simple cave, well proving the power of faith and prayer delivered with the right touch.

 
Reprinted from Cathy Spagnoli, Asian Tales and Tellers (Little Rock, Ark.: August House, Inc., 1998), pp. 116-117. Copyright @ 1998 by Cathy Spagnoli.