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

170 The Precious Scroll of Good-in-Talent and Dragon Girl
such as brewing tea, cooking rice, hauling water, and chopping firewood.
You’ll have to be able to eat yellowed leeks and bland rice,
and to be able to wear a raggedy cassock and hempen clothes.
Only if you are able to abide by all of these many rules will you be
able to cultivate the Way!’’ Chen Lian replied: ‘‘How can one obtain
the sweetest of the sweet without experiencing the most bitter of the
bitter?’’ He then composed the following gātha:
Only because of birth and death, endless saṁsāra, does your pupil
Want with all his heart to escape from that cycle of suffering.
I implore you, my teacher, to show me some kind compassion,
I will be happy to be ordered about and serve as your servant.
My single-minded heart is undivided: I will not waver or
regret,
I am eager to practice meditation, seated in the lotus position.
I’ll take refuge in the Three Jewels, uphold the five precepts,
Unshakable in my determination to escape from the Red Dust.
Testing him, the Perfected Man found that he did not waver, and
realized that his determination was that of the brave man who
does not fear and of the wise man who is not deluded. But then he
tested him once again to see how he would react. The Perfected
Man spoke once more, saying: ‘‘So you really want to cultivate the
Way. But what will you say if your father comes and orders you to
return home?’’ He replied: ‘‘He who has left the family does not return
to the family.’’ The Perfected Man was pleased and said: ‘‘Yes,
yes, yes! You truly have the talent in your breast!’’ And he gave him
a religious name, calling him Good-in-Talent (Shancai). 17 From this
moment on, he called him by the name of Good-in-Talent. Even
though he was still young in years, he really was quite determined.
From that day onward he took all the heavy work upon himself, and
he was willing to carry out all the tasks of hauling water and carrying
firewood. Despite all these hardships, he never showed any
resentment that the true summation was so hard to achieve. His father
also understood that his son was unwilling to devote himself to
the study of the Books, and often sighed over his bad luck. He
would often invite him to come back home, but his son always refused.
Now he had practiced austerities for three years and had
just turned ten. This was the year that the grand historian was cele-