A long, long time ago there was a temple in the Capitol named Eifuku-ji, where a monk lived with his mother. The mother was quite old, and one day she became terribly ill. The monk cared for her night and day, but her sickness would not go away. "I would love to taste my favorite food one last time," she told her son. "I would love to eat some octopus."
The monk didn't know what to do. A monk who serves the Buddha faithfully promises never to kill and eat a living thing. But his mother was sick. Surely the Great Buddha would understand that this was for her sake. The monk went into town to buy an octopus.
From the moment he returned to the temple carrying the octopus, strange things began to happen. As the monk prepared to be treated harshly by all his friends, he was greeted with smiles instead. "Look how faithful our brother is! Carrying his book of sutras everywhere he goes!" Strange, thought the monk; every time he looked down at his hand he only saw the octopus he was carrying.
The monk glanced toward the main hall of the temple and saw the image of the Great Healing Buddha, a golden halo gleaming around his head. The image flashed brightly for a moment, then disappeared the next. Surprised, the monk kneeled in the direction of the hall, pressed his hands together, and prayed.
When he had finished, the monk took the octopus to his mother. "Mmmm! Delicious!" she said, and she ate until she was full. When she had finished, she curiously started to feel better. It seemed her sickness had been cured!
Later, the monk told his mother the strange story of the octopus and how it had been invisible to the other monks. "This was the Healing Buddha at work," the woman said knowingly. "To you and me, he appeared as an octopus. To everyone else, he appeared as a book of sutras. All we know for sure is that we should be grateful. We should be very grateful."
From that time on, the monk came to have great faith in the Healing Buddha. Eventually, almost without realizing it, he began to call him the "Octopus Buddha."
The monk didn't know what to do. A monk who serves the Buddha faithfully promises never to kill and eat a living thing. But his mother was sick. Surely the Great Buddha would understand that this was for her sake. The monk went into town to buy an octopus.
From the moment he returned to the temple carrying the octopus, strange things began to happen. As the monk prepared to be treated harshly by all his friends, he was greeted with smiles instead. "Look how faithful our brother is! Carrying his book of sutras everywhere he goes!" Strange, thought the monk; every time he looked down at his hand he only saw the octopus he was carrying.
The monk glanced toward the main hall of the temple and saw the image of the Great Healing Buddha, a golden halo gleaming around his head. The image flashed brightly for a moment, then disappeared the next. Surprised, the monk kneeled in the direction of the hall, pressed his hands together, and prayed.
When he had finished, the monk took the octopus to his mother. "Mmmm! Delicious!" she said, and she ate until she was full. When she had finished, she curiously started to feel better. It seemed her sickness had been cured!
Later, the monk told his mother the strange story of the octopus and how it had been invisible to the other monks. "This was the Healing Buddha at work," the woman said knowingly. "To you and me, he appeared as an octopus. To everyone else, he appeared as a book of sutras. All we know for sure is that we should be grateful. We should be very grateful."
From that time on, the monk came to have great faith in the Healing Buddha. Eventually, almost without realizing it, he began to call him the "Octopus Buddha."
