ENG
Wisdom's lamp lights seasons' span,
Time flows like water through our hands.
Snow and wind obscure the way,
Achievements drift like bubbles, grand.
The temple rules state: New monks entering the temple may receive a new kasaya.
One day, Master Non-Void joyfully welcomed a new disciple and personally led him to the storeroom to fetch a kasaya.
The young disciple found that the kasaya was made of a single layer of cloth, hardly adequate for the snowy mountains. He asked, "Master, this thin kasaya seems suitable for summer. Could I exchange it for a woolen one?"
Non-Void shook his own kasaya and said, "The one I wear is the same as the one in your hands, only more ornate. With the Buddha's wisdom in your heart, you shall fear the cold no more."
The young disciple, still doubtful, asked, "Master, I saw many seniors frozen to death by the roadside..."
Non-Void kindly replied, "Their understanding was shallow, and minds unsteady. Yet you are different. I can see that you have the potential to comprehend the Buddha's wisdom." The young disciple, feeling proud, happily followed his master back with the kasaya.
Not long after, another frozen corpse appeared outside the temple gate. As Non-Void led his new disciple past it, the young disciple asked, "Master, did these seniors all freeze to death?"
Non-Void continued walking slowly and said, "Fear not, my disciple. They lacked piety and wisdom, but you are different..."
This story is set at a mountain temple where seasons are harsh and time passes slowly. The temple has a specific rule that new monks entering the temple may receive a new kasaya (a monk’s robe). The scene opens with Master Non-Void welcoming a new disciple and personally taking him to the storeroom to get that robe.
When the young disciple looks at the kasaya, he finds it is a single thin layer of cloth, clearly not warm enough for the snowy mountains. He asks his master if he can trade it for a woolen one. Non-Void responds by shaking his own robe and saying that the robe the disciple has is the same as his, only more ornate, and that with the Buddha’s wisdom in his heart he will not fear the cold.
The disciple remains doubtful because he has seen senior monks frozen to death by the roadside. Non-Void answers that those seniors had shallow understanding and unsteady minds, implying that their lack of inner wisdom led to their deaths. He tells the new disciple that he sees potential in him to comprehend the Buddha’s wisdom. The disciple feels proud of this special judgment and follows his master back to the temple wearing the thin kasaya.
Soon after, another frozen corpse appears outside the temple gate. As they walk past it, the disciple asks again if those seniors froze to death. Non-Void continues walking and repeats the same reassurance: those monks lacked piety and wisdom, but you are different. The master’s repeated replies show a steady insistence that inner understanding, not material clothing, is what matters.
The narrative leaves a strong contrast between the visible reality—dead monks frozen by exposure—and the master’s teaching that inner wisdom removes fear of cold. It shows the master valuing spiritual assurance over practical protection and the disciple accepting that reassurance with pride. The implication is ambiguous: it can be read as a sincere teaching about spiritual resilience or as a dangerous denial of physical needs, and the story warns that blind confidence in words alone can be risky when practical dangers are real.