Nuna, ki je uzrla bodhisatvo Džiza

Besedilo

Nuna, ki je uzrla bodhisatvo Džiza

Long ago, in the province of Tango, there lived an old nun. Having heard it said that the bodhisattva Jizō walked abroad at dawn each day, she wandered far and wide every morning, hoping to behold him. A gambler who had lost everything and was sitting idle caught sight of her and said, “Mother Nun, what are you doing out in this cold?” “I hear that the bodhisattva Jizō walks abroad at dawn,” she replied, “and I go about like this in the hope of meeting him.” “I know the road Jizō takes,” he said. “Come along, and I will bring you to him.” “Oh, what a joy!” she cried. “Take me where Jizō is to be found.” “Give me something, and I will take you there at once.” “I will give you the robe I am wearing,” she said. “Then come along.” He led her to a neighboring house, and the nun hurried after him in delight. A boy who lived there was called Jizō, and the gambler knew his parents. When he asked, “Where is Jizō?” they answered, “He has gone out to play. He will be back soon.” “Here we are,” the gambler told the nun. “This is where Jizō lives.” Overjoyed, she took off her spun-silk robe and gave it to him. He snatched it up and hurried away. The nun sat waiting to behold Jizō, while the parents wondered, quite bewildered, why she should wish to see their child. Presently a boy of about ten came home. “Here is Jizō,” they said. The instant the nun saw him, she lost all awareness of her surroundings, flung herself down in worship, and bowed with her face to the earth. The boy had been playing with a slender switch and still held it in his hand. Idly, as though continuing his game, he scratched his forehead with it, and his face split open from his forehead downward. Within the opening appeared the wondrously radiant face of the bodhisattva Jizō. As the nun raised her eyes in adoration, she saw him standing there. She wept and worshipped him, and then and there passed into the Pure Land. Thus we should believe that, if only we contemplate the Buddha with deep devotion in our hearts, he will reveal himself to us.