In her book, 25 Windows...
Illustration
Object:
In her book, 25 Windows into the Soul, Joan Chittister tells the story of a Zen
Buddhist monk in Japan who was determined to publish the holy books of his religion in
Japanese (at the time, they were available only in Chinese). Publishing, in those days,
was a laborious enterprise, for each page had to be carved into a separate wood block,
then inked, then printed out by hand.
The monk traveled throughout the land, collecting donations for this great undertaking. After ten years of collecting contributions -- mostly small coins -- he finally had enough money to begin the task. Then, a terrible flood came, and famine followed. The monk took all the money he had collected, and spent it to keep poor people from starving. Then, he began the task of collecting all over again.
Fifteen years passed, and the story was the same. Just as he had collected enough funds, an epidemic broke out. Again, the faithful monk gave away all he had collected, to help the survivors.
A third time he started his work, but this time there was no natural disaster, and he saw the project through to completion. That first edition of the holy books is a national treasure and can still be viewed today, along with the original printing blocks, in a monastery in Kyoto.
The Japanese are fond of saying that the monk really made three sets of holy books. The first two are invisible, and they surpass the third in their beauty.
The monk traveled throughout the land, collecting donations for this great undertaking. After ten years of collecting contributions -- mostly small coins -- he finally had enough money to begin the task. Then, a terrible flood came, and famine followed. The monk took all the money he had collected, and spent it to keep poor people from starving. Then, he began the task of collecting all over again.
Fifteen years passed, and the story was the same. Just as he had collected enough funds, an epidemic broke out. Again, the faithful monk gave away all he had collected, to help the survivors.
A third time he started his work, but this time there was no natural disaster, and he saw the project through to completion. That first edition of the holy books is a national treasure and can still be viewed today, along with the original printing blocks, in a monastery in Kyoto.
The Japanese are fond of saying that the monk really made three sets of holy books. The first two are invisible, and they surpass the third in their beauty.
