The One-dollar Offering

There was a very stingy person who never practiced spiritually. Since he also never gave charity, he was very much afraid of monks coming to beg for alms. His wife had strong faith in Buddha, however, and liked chanting the Buddha’s name and practicing spiritually, which the man abhorred. One day the man’s mother passed away and his wife suggested, “Let’s make a pilgrimage to the Ganges, where we can perform a ritual to ask for the Buddha’s blessing so that our mother will be elevated.” The man replied, “OK! But let’s not take such a long trip for it will be very expensive! We can go somewhere nearby.”

Halfway on their pilgrimage, they decided to visit a certain temple. However, they were worried that there might be some monks around when they arrived and they would have to make the customary offering to the monks. So, they went there when all the monks were asleep. Indeed, when they entered the temple, there was no one in sight, only a few statues of the Buddha and the Quan Yin Bodhisattva.

Detecting the man’s stinginess, the Quan Yin Bodhisattva manifested as a monk and sat there. After paying respects to the Buddha statues, the man was astounded to see a monk! The monk, who was the manifestation of the Quan Yin Bodhisattva, said to him, “You’ve earned infinite merit by paying respect to the Buddha and offering incense. Would you like me to perform a ritual of elevation for you?” The man replied, “No! It’s not necessary! I can do it myself.” But the monk insisted, “It’s all right. I can do it for you. You don’t have to make an offering to me now; you can pay later. Just let me know how much of an offering you want to make.” It’s a common practice for worshippers to make offerings at temples.

Then the man thought, “It’s all right for me to promise him now. Later, I’ll just leave, and he won’t be able to find me.” So, the man said, “OK! I’ll make an offering of one dollar.” And the monk said, “Fine! One dollar is enough, as long as you’re sincere.” Then the monk went on to chant many scriptures for him. After the ritual of elevation was over, the man told his wife, “Now that the ritual has been done, we’ve made the pilgrimage and paid respect to the Buddha, and a monk has chanted the scriptures for us, we can go home tomorrow.”

A few days after they got home, the monk suddenly appeared at their house. The wife went inside and told her husband, “The monk from the temple is waiting outside. You promised to offer him one dollar. Now he’s come to collect it.” The man was terrified and said, “Good grief! I don’t want to give him a dollar. Go and tell him that I’m seriously ill, and can’t entertain any guests now. Ask him to leave.” Of course, the wife knew very well how stingy her husband was. She could only go out and tell the monk, “I’m very sorry, but my husband is very ill and can’t entertain you. Will you please return to your temple?”

The monk said, “So he’s sick! Then it’s even more proper that I should fulfill my obligation. (Laughter) I’ll chant the Buddha’s name for him, hoping he’ll recover soon.” The wife went inside again to report to her husband and the man said, “No! No! Tell him that I’m dead (laughter) and ask him to leave.” The wife had no other alternative but to go out and tell the monk, “I’m sorry. My husband has just passed away. I think you had better leave.” But the monk was eager to offer his services. Not only did he refuse to leave, but he also insisted, “If this is true, then I definitely must go in to chant the scriptures for his elevation.”

Now that the man was “dead” he couldn’t object any more (laughter) and his wife couldn’t stop the monk from entering the house to chant the scriptures, recite the Buddha’s name, and perform a lot of rituals. Finally, the man was placed in a coffin and sent to a crematory. But just as he was about to be cremated, he jumped out of the coffin, shouting, “Hey! Don’t burn me! I’m still alive.”

At that time, the monk resumed his original form of the Quan Yin Bodhisattva and said to the man, “I’m delighted to see you make so much effort and express so much sincerity in making the pilgrimage. Now I’ll grant you a wish, which I’ll realize for you.” Then the man knelt down and cried, and do you know what his wish was? He said, “Please forgive me, Quan Yin Bodhisattva, and please waive the one dollar that I promised to offer!” (Laughter) Hearing his words, the Quan Yin Bodhisattva shook Her head and left. This is how sentient beings behave. It’s useless even when Buddhas descend to save them. ...Next Page