Prevod

Long ago, at Tōdaiji, there was a senior monk who was immensely wealthy. Yet he would never give anyone so much as a trifle, and his miserliness seemed a grievous sin. Bishop Shōbō was then still a young monk, and, appalled by the senior monk’s sinful greed, he deliberately challenged him to a wager. “What would you have me do, Reverend Sir, to make you provide a feast for the whole community?” The senior monk thought, “If I wager with him and lose, it would be a waste to have to pay for a feast. Still, now that he has challenged me before everyone, it would be humiliating to make no reply.” He racked his brains for something Shōbō could never do, then said, “On the day of the Kamo Festival, ride a scrawny cow along Ichijō Avenue from Ōmiya to the riverbank, stark naked except for a loincloth, with a dried salmon at your waist for a sword, loudly proclaiming, ‘I am Shōbō of Tōdaiji!’ If you do that, I shall provide a great feast for everyone at the temple, from the monks down to the servants.” Certain in his heart that Shōbō would never go so far, he bound himself firmly to the wager. Shōbō summoned the whole community and, before the Great Buddha, struck metal to seal the oath, declaring its terms to the Buddha before taking his leave. As the appointed day drew near, a viewing stand was built at the junction of Ichijō and Tominokōji, and all the monks gathered there to watch Shōbō pass. The senior monk was among them. After a while, a tremendous uproar arose from the spectators along the avenue. Wondering what was happening, they craned their necks and looked westward. There was a naked monk riding a cow, with a dried salmon at his waist for a sword, briskly slapping the animal’s rump. Hundreds upon thousands of children trailed behind him, shouting, “Here comes Shōbō of Tōdaiji, riding past to win his wager with the senior monk!” This was the chief attraction of that year’s festival. Afterward, the monks all returned to the temple and made the senior monk provide the promised great feast. When the emperor heard of it, he said, “Shōbō is truly a man who casts aside his own dignity to lead others to the Way. How could such a holy man have appeared in our age?” He summoned Shōbō to court and eventually raised him to the rank of bishop. It was this bishop who founded Upper Daigo.