The Red Cloud chief., 1880-12-09
Sample Chinese Story.


dhis. monk Of exceptional virtue and
purity Of conduct, who. though v e
eighty years Of age. was sill hale and
hearty. One dsy be fell down and
could not move and when the other
priests rushed 10 help him W. they
found he vas already gone The old
monk was himself unconscious Of
death. and hi. soul few away TO the
borders of the province Ut HOnan.
Now Il CHANGED that the scion Of an
old Honan family had gUn. out that
very day with sJme ten or 3 dozen
followers % hunt the hare with falcons;
but. his horse having run away with
him. he fell of and Was killed. Just
at that moment the soul of the priest
came by. and entered into the body,
which ihereupon gradually recovered
consciousness The servants crowded
round TO ask him how he :e'i. when.
opening his eyes wildly. he cried out
"How did get here" They assisted
him TO rise and led him 10 the house.
where all his lad e. came 10 see him.
and enquire how be did In great
amazemcnt he said: II am n Buddhist
monk: how came I hither?' The SER
wants thought he was wandering. and
tried 4 recall him by pulling his ears;
a. for himself he could make nothing
of it. and, closing hi eyes. RETAINED
from saying anything further. For
food he would only eat rice. refusing
ali wine and meat. and he avoided tho
society of his wives. After some days
lie felt inclined for 4 stroll. IT which all
his family were delighted; but no
sooner had he got outside and stopped
for a little rest than he was be>ieged
by servants begging him to take their
accounts a usu Il. ~IIoNever. he
pleaded illness and want Of strength,
and no more was said. He then TOOK
occasion 10 ask il they knew the dis
trict Of Ch'ang-ch ing. and. ON being
answered in the affirmative, expressed
his intention Of going thither for a trip.
as he felt dull and had nothing partic-
ular 10 10, bidding them AZ the same
time look after his affairs Ut home.
They tried To dissuade him from this
on the ground Of having but recently
risen from a sick bed; but ne pad no
heed to their rcmOnstrances. and ON
the very next day set out. Arriving in
the Ch'ang-ch'ing district, he found
everything unchanged. and, without
being put to the necessity OF asking his
road. made his VA straight to the
monastery. His former disciples re-
ccived him with every token of respect
as an honored visitor. and, in reply To
his question "a to where the old monk
was, they informed him that their
worthy teacher had been dead for some
time. On asking To be shown his
grave, they led him TO a spot where
there wa a S~Ol:tarr mound some three
feet high, over which the grass was
not vet green. Not one of them knew
his motives for visiting the place; and
by and by he ordered his horse. saying
to the disciples: Your master was n
v~irtuous monk; carefully preserve
whatever relics of him YOU may have.
and keep them from injury" They
all promised To do this, and he then set
off on his way home. When he al
rived there, he fell into a ~liStleSS state
and took no interest in his family af-
fairs. So much SO. that after a few
months he ran away and went straight
TO his former home ut the monastery.
telling the disciples that he was their
old master. This they refused to be-
lieve. and laughed among themselves
ut his p~retensionS; but he told them
the whole story, and recalled many in
cidents Of his previous life among
them. until at last they were con-
WINGED. He then occupied his old bed,
and went through the same daily rou-
tine as before, paying no attention to
the repeated entreaties Of his family.
who came with carriages and horses TO
beg him to return.
About a year subsequently his wife
sent one of the servants with splendid
presents of gold and silk, all of which
he refused with the exception of a
single linen robe. And whenever any
of his old friends passed this mon
astery they always went to pay him
their respects, finding him quiet. dig
nified and pure. He was then rarely
thirty. though he had been n monk of
more than eighty years of age.-From
Strange Stories from Chinese
Studio"