Chapter Two : Doctrine 15

Once, while the Founding Master was residing at Pongnae hermitage, an old couple was passing by and commented that their daughter-in-law was so ill-tempered and unfilial that they were on their way to Silsang monastery to make a buddha offering about the situation. Upon hearing their problem, the Founding Master said to them,
“How is it that you know to make a buddha offering to the buddha image but not to the living buddha?”
The old couple asked,
“Where is the living buddha?” The Founding Master replied, “The daughter-in-law who lives at your home is the living buddha. Since she is the one with the prerogative to be either filial or unfilial, why don’t you try making an offering to her, first?”
They asked, “How should we make such an offering?” The Founding Master answered, “With the money you were going to use for the buddha offering, buy her a gift she would appreciate and treat her with the same respect you would the Buddha. Then, depending on how sincere you are, the effect of your buddha offering will appear.” When the couple returned home, they did as they were told and ultimately, in a few months, she indeed became a filial daughter-in-law. The old couple returned to the Founding Master and thanked him over and over again, and the Founding Master said to his disciples sitting beside him, “This is a pragmatic buddha offering that directly targets the specific object of transgression and merit.”

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