Two Precious Scroll Narratives of Guanyin and Her ... - Khamkoo

106 ThePreciousScrollofIncenseMountain,Part2
‘‘One raises a son so as to have someone’s care in old age,
To be close to one’s own parents beats cultivating the Truth.
We all still remember that day when you took your leave,
Thinking of you both morning and night we’re filled with pain.
We all advise you, Your Highness, to marry a prince consort,
And so spare your flesh and body from death by the knife.
The running animals and the flying birds all marry and mate,
So how can one as a human being not be united in wedlock?
Don’t follow the example of those losers, those poor nuns,
Who turn into low-caste people and are despised by all!
To practice cultivation in your youth is nothing so special,
One only becomes famous for studying the Way in old age!’’
When the palace women went to see the princess, she was bareheaded
and her hair was hanging down; her body was hung with
paper coins; her neck was locked in a block and her hands were
clasped in fetters, and ash and ink smeared her face, as if she
were a prisoner from hell. When they all saw her, they could not
but burst out in tears. When their weeping was done, filled with
compassion they spoke to her: ‘‘Your Highness, you have nineteen
years of greening spring, you are like the sun rising in the east, like
a flower that has just begun to bloom, like a lamp that is burning for
the first time, and like a treasure that has just been discovered. So
why do you treat your beautiful, flowerlike appearance like shit
and mud? Tonight, take our advice, and make use of this opportunity
to turn disaster into good fortune, marry a prince consort!’’
Following the rain, the flowers on the mountain have increased in
color,
Once the wind blows, waves will all by themselves emerge on the
water.
Namo Guanshiyin pusa
With kind and friendly words they all urged the princess,
They all urged the third princess to change her mind now:
‘‘The mountains are green, the rivers blue just as before,
So why should you replace your old you with a new you?
If you, Your Highness, refuse to marry a prince consort,
You discard loyalty and filiality, deny human relations.