A
man from a village in the province of Jrunoya Schinann went out hunting
one could winters day hoping to capture some game, he was however, vain
and irritable so he failed. On his way back he noticed a big old monkey
who was sitting in a tree near the road. While many humans don’t like
to shoot monkeys as they are nearly as intelligent as humans and there
are many stories about them and how they protect humans from bears and
wolves, with the humans throwing them valuable things such as gold or
coins to show their gratitude. The hunter thought of all this as he
approached the monkey but the thought of his empty game bag was too
powerful so he shot the monkey and took it with him. Night
came and it was impossible for the hunter to reach his village in the
darkness so he was glad to find a solitary and empty home where he
could safely spend the nice. He took the monkey from his game bag and
was happy to have the plump animal but it was too dark and he too tired
to skin and clean it properly so he thought he’d be better taking care
of this in the morning. But as he lay he suddenly was concerned that
the monkey would be too frozen in the morning to clean if he let him
hang all night. So he took the monkey into the room and fixed it on a
hook near the fire pot so the small fire could keep the monkey warm and
thawed through the night. After
he had done this he fell asleep for a moment but woke again after some
time. That was when he saw something strange. The fires glow began to
grow dark and then bright again. Dusky figures flitted to and fro in
front of the flames. Anxious and curios he looked out carefully and saw
two baby monkeys which had been hidden under the arms of the old
monkey. They climbed down the monkey to the fire and back up to the old
monkey’s face, chest and the bullet wound which had killed it which
they heated with the hands they warmed by the fire. When
the hunter saw this he was seized with heartfelt compassion for he now
clearly saw the grave injustice he’d done to the monkey who’s children
had survived death. A penitent grief possessed him as he thought of
that scene he’d witnessed. So he decided henceforth to live as a devout
penitent. He shunned the world, left his wife and child in the lurch
and became a poor praying pilgrim, his head shaven. He traveled the
roads of the empire as a beggar to the places consecrated to the
sublime Buddha, asking for forgiveness and peace of mind.
