The tale of lime-jar

Once upon a time, a beautiful girl was born in a wealthy family and she also was a haughty girl. She made other girls tear away and men hate her. So that she was old enough to get married but no men agreed to marry with her. Someone she said that they were too fat, someone was too skinny, someone was to short…

At last she had married. Her husband loved her but she, in the other hand, always became jealous whenever her husband talked to other woman. To many times they had arguments that made their neighbors uncomfortable. At last, they can not stand any more and decided to divorce. Felt sad about family problem she decided to have a religious life.

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She had led the religious life for 20 years that had made animals living around the temple accustomed to her back but she still couldn’t land her feet on Buddhist land. She thought that why she had known all Buddhist scripture and she also had a religious life as everyone but now she still didn’t become a Buddha. Therefore, she decided to go to Buddhist land to ask them about that.

One day, while she was her way leading to Buddhist land she stopped to take a rest at a house. The house belonged to a woman and her son. Although they lived lonely in deep forest but they were vegetarian so when they saw her they were very happy and treated her very well. They heard her talked about her religious life and the reason about travel. They admired her and wanted to leave their house then go with her to Buddhist land hoping they could become Buddha.

After hering their hoping, she smiled and said:

“You two want to be Buddha. Oke, follow me” but in her head she thought that she now still didn’t become Buddha so why they two, only vegetarian people, could become Buddha.

From that day, the female monk had two fellows. She felt the way become shorter, her feet faster then they at last came near Buddhist land. The woman and her son still thought about her as their master. They followed her words without doubt. She, in other hand, thought that they could become Buddha before her. That made her felt ashamed.

The Buddha after hearing that someone wanted to go Buddhist land transformed in to normal people. He followed them anywhere, listed all female monk’s works, all her actions. When they came to a large river the Buddha created a large temple with a large pagoda tree beside it in other side to wait for them.

Does not want the woman and her son followed she talked them that was “Tay Truc”(Buddhist land) and that tree was the tree which the Buddha had sat under before he became Buddha. She added that they only climbed on the top of the tree, muttered Buddhist scripture and jumped down then they would become Buddha.

Believed their master they went to top of the tree and jumped down but from the sky four Buddha sitting on lotuses flew down and brought them up the sky. They waved their hand to hint their fellow.

“It is truth. They have become Buddha”. She felt so surprised and acted like them. She climbed to the top of tree and jumped but the Buddha wanted to punish the monk who was haughty and cruel. Therefore, she fell down the ground, broken head and died. The Buddha transformed her into a lime-jar. That reminded all monks who had religious lives but had black hearts would be changed into lime – jars which were gutted forever.

*In the Viet Nam people often eat betel which needs betel and areca and lime. They often put into a jar and used a small stick to take out lime whenever they want to eat betel.*

THE END

"Translated by Hung Nguyen"

Book Introductions

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