One of the Zen stories Osho commented upon for the series, ‘No Water No Moon’.
A nun who was searching for enlightenment made a wooden statue of Buddha and covered it with gold leaf.
It was very pretty and she carried it with her wherever she went.
Years passed and, still carrying her Buddha, the nun settled down in a small country temple, where there were many statues of Buddha, each having its own shrine.
The nun burned incense before her golden Buddha each day, but not liking the idea of her perfume straying to the other statues, she devised a funnel through which the smoke would ascend to her statue only.
This blackened the nose of the golden statue and made it especially ugly.
[…] This is the mind of a possessive person: not even the perfume, the incense, the smoke is allowed to reach to other Buddhas – and others are also Buddhas.
Osho, No Water No Moon – Ten discourses on Zen stories, Ch 7 (excerpt)
Series compiled by Shanti
All excerpts of this series can be found in: 1001 Tales
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