Have you ever met with Buddha?

Some people say "I saw Buddha.". Do you believe them? I'll talk a story of a Shodo-teacher who was my mother's shodo-teacher. (Shodo means art of calligraphy.)



The teacher suffered a serious disease. She entered a hospital which is at the bottom of a hill. Her house was at the head of the hill. Her doctor said "You can't walk any more. It is a irremediableness". She gave up to walk completely and she was devastated by grief.



One night, at the hospital room, she dreamed. She was been carrying on spindly and fair-skinned someone's back and the person was walking toward top of the hill. She wondered who the person is. Then, the person took a look back on her. She saw the person's face. She knows the person's face. Yes, she knows his face. When she was a little kid, she often used to be brought around one temple where the bodhisattva is.



Next morning, she woke up and spend the morning as usual, she thought she was spending the morning as usual. And first thing she knows, she was walking in the room.



I've forgotten the bodhisattva's name. As I recall, his name includes 紫(purple). Maybe I'm wrong.



I heard this story through my mother.



Although I don't believe the bodhisattva is a real bodhisattva, I like this story. I remembered this story abruptly.



However, even if it was just a dream, bodhisattva may be a such like existence for people who seek salvation. From that standpoint, the bodhisattva in her dream may be a real bodhisattva, I think.



In this reagion, it is said bodhisattvas stay in this world to rescue people. Bodhisattvas want to rescue people. "To want to rescue" is an earthly desires and bodhisattvas have it. So, bodhisattvas are not Buddha. They can be buddha but they stay for people who seek salvation. Also it is said buddha becomes bodhisattvas to rescue people. Originally, bodhisattvas are trainee monks. If you practice Buddhism, you are a bodhisattva.



Teachers sometimes said "You all are 文殊菩薩(Mañjuśrī)!" when I was an university student. I felt funny. :-) But what the teachers said are right.



I know other several stories but I'll talk you them another time.



It is a photo of Higan-bana (cluster-amaryllis). It is also called as 曼珠沙華 (Manjyushage)

Manjyushage sounds beautiful, I think. "Higan(彼岸)" means farther shore of,,,, how should I say in English?,,,,, farther shore of the river Styx? Anyway a river between this world and Buddha's world. "Bana（花)" means flower.



It is not my photo.



Have a nice weekend!