How a Young Monk Became Enlightened

The young monk had to do chores like fetching water, making fire, cooking, and cleaning every day. Illustration by Sun Mingguo/The Epoch Times

On a mountain was a temple that housed a group of monks. Among them were an old monk and a young monk. Whenever the old monk went down the mountain to beg for alms, the young monk would follow him. The two of them were together wherever they went.

The young monk had become a monk at a tender age and had been following the old monk in his spiritual practice. He had to do chores like fetching water, making fire, cooking, and cleaning every day, but it did not bother him. In fact, he enjoyed doing them.

The young monk’s question

One day, the young monk was sweeping the floor when all of a sudden he looked at the temple’s Buddha statue, and a thought struck him: “I’ve been chanting the sutras and meditating with the old monk every day for many years. What exactly is Buddha?”