Kanji Press

6:5 Priest Myosen and Masashige

translated by Yoshiko Dykstra

Long ago, Myosen was a celebrated scholar priest of Gangoji Temple.¹ He began his studies in his later years, after he had reached the age of thirty. Wasting not a single moment, he diligently worked and finally became an incomparable scholar familiar with many Buddhist writings. He even had a dialogue in the format of questions and answers with the eminent Abbot Jie.²

Once on a rainy day in his youth, Myosen took shelter under the eaves of a mansion. While watching the raindrops falling on the hollow of a stone on the ground, he thought, "Raindrops are so soft and fragile that they break in a splash as they hit anything. Yet if they fall constantly on the same spot, they can create a hollow even in a hard stone. No matter how slow I am, if I make constant effort, surely in future, I will reach the profundity in things."

With his firm determination and constant effort, Myosen finally became a great scholar.

There is a similar tale about Kusunoki Masashige. He once visited Kasuga Shrine with his servants and walked around the compound of the adjacent Todaiji Temple. He saw a group of smart-looking people talking to each other in front of the belfry.

They were saying, "This is the best bell in Japan. It needs more than thirty men to move it."

Someone in the group stepped out and said, "Exactly. Even if thirty men push it, it will not move. But with a clever trick, I may be able to move it all by myself within a day."

Another man scornfully said, "You always have such smart talk, but you've never done anything so smart to show us. The first man retorted, "You may be right. But how can I do anything without being asked? If you are really interested, why don't you come back here tomorrow? If I can move the bell, I would like to receive as much of your treasures as I wish. If not, you may ask me for anything you like."

The two men continued to argue and finally they became excited and began to use abusive language. Masashige went to the first man and told him, "It will be truly wonderful if you can move the bell all by yourself with your plan. I have also figured it out by myself, and it is a splendid idea."

Masashige's servants did not understand their master at all, and after they returned home, they asked him, "Won't you tell us your plan to move the bell? We would like to know."

Masashige replied, "It is really nothing special. Let's go there again, and I will show you how."

Several days later, Masashige and his servants returned to the belfry of Todaiji Temple. He chose a strong man from among his servants, and placed a box, two feet high, by the bell, saying to him, "Now, you step up on the box, and push the bell with your two hands. Don't push it too hard, but apply the same amount of pressure for a while, and then rest. Repeat this for a while, but don't give up even if it does not move. Just keep on."

With this, Masashige kept the servant pushing the bell from the Hour of Snake (9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.) to the Hour of Monkey (3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.).

But the bell did not move. Masashige urged him, "Keep trying !" After a while, the base of the Dragon Head [crown] of the bell began to squeak, and soon the bell started to move slightly inch by inch. Seeing this, the servants were moved to tears and said, "What a wonderful plan!"

This was what people in later generations called "Masashige's wonderful scheme."

If the bell had to be moved quickly, then the efforts of thirty men would be needed. But one man could move it all by himself by slowly applying constant pressure on it for a day and this would be more efficient than the efforts of thirty men. This is possible only with constant application without any remiss.

Perhaps such a legendary tale may be unbelievable, but people can easily understand how Masashige often overcame a great enemy with his small army by his "profound scheme."

~~~ The End ~~~

©2007 by Yoshiko Dykstra