Shadow by the Lotus Pond

This is a story of the occasions when the monks at Dai Tong Lam temple witnessed strange figures by the lotus pond, illustrating the concept that divine beings possess size and capacities far surpassing humans.

Night fell slowly over the early days of Dai Tong Lam. Back then, the temple was still quite desolate, its vast grounds holding only a few scattered monastics. The air was so quiet that one could clearly hear the wind rustling through the leaves and the water gently lapping at the pond's edge. Those were years when practice was intertwined with solitude and wakefulness amidst a majestic yet mysterious nature.

One evening, as night had fully descended, an elder monk stood by the shore of the lotus pond. The hazy moonlight shone onto the dark water, reflecting the silhouette of the tall statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara in the distance. As the monk was lost in contemplation, from the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw a figure glide past with incredible speed. His heart constricted, his breath caught in his chest. He spun around, eyes wide open, trying to find the source of that shape. But then, he froze in shock upon seeing a "person" with no head walk right past him, vanishing into nothingness in an instant. His trembling hands clutched at his robe, and the monk felt a wave of cold run down his spine—not from extreme fear, but from sheer amazement before a reality beyond ordinary understanding.

A few days later, another story was told among the Sangha. Another monk, while doing his nightly rounds to check the temple grounds, was crossing an overgrown area when he saw a figure standing tall. The strange thing was that the figure's height rose far above the treetops, as if a giant being were present in the human world. The monk stopped, looked up, his heart filled with a mix of curiosity and reverent awe. He wondered to himself: "Could this be one of the guardian deities? Or perhaps a lingering spirit from a bygone era?"

The next morning, during a simple vegetarian meal, the monks sat together. The clinking of bowls blended with their deep, measured voices:

"Yesterday, I saw a headless figure by the lotus pond." "And I saw a figure taller than that ancient banyan tree."

The monks looked at each other, their eyes no longer showing panic replaced by a deep, shared understanding. They recalled the sutras' teachings about the size of celestial beings, that they can be as large as Mount Sumeru. These real-life experiences helped them believe more firmly in the teaching: divine beings are not merely abstract concepts, but sentient beings of a higher order than humans in many aspects, including physical size and transcendent capabilities.

From those long nights of guarding the temple, the monks drew a lesson: although this place was remote, it was a convergence point between the realm of the living and the realm of spirits, between humans and divine guardian beings. The presence of those mysterious figures reminded them of the universe's diversity and mystery, and reinforced their belief that human wisdom must remain humble before the things that science or common reasoning cannot fully explain.

**Meaning of the Story**

This story illustrates the first characteristic of divine beings compared to humans: the difference in size and capacity. Through the monks' real experiences, we see that divine beings are higher-order sentient beings, capable of manifesting in forms that are difficult for ordinary human eyes to comprehend. This emphasizes that humanity, though the most intelligent on Earth, must humbly acknowledge the existence of higher planes within the universe, thereby nurturing a mind inclined toward goodness and respect for spiritual values.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thich Chan Quang.