The Black-Nosed Buddha

A small temple rests amidst golden rice fields, its bell ringing softly in the fading light of dusk. A nun enters, clutching tightly a small Buddha statue wrapped in shimmering gold leaf. She places it on her own altar and lights incense, but her eyes dart toward the other Buddha statues already present in the temple.

For many years, this nun had carried her golden Buddha statue from one monastery to another. She believed it was the most sacred object, her private possession. Yet in this temple, there were too many statues, each with its own altar. Every time she burned incense, the smoke drifted toward the other Buddhas, causing her deep discomfort.

"This fragrance belongs to my Buddha; why should it drift elsewhere?" she muttered, her hands trembling as she held the incense stick. She decided to create a small tunnel using bamboo tubes, directing the smoke from the censer straight up to the nose of her golden statue. Day after day, the smoke rose, blackening the Buddha’s nose until it looked particularly ugly.

One day, the head monk noticed and asked, "Nun, why is your Buddha’s nose so black?"

She replied, "Venerable sir, I only wanted the fragrance to reach my Buddha. I did not want it drifting to the other statues."

The head monk shook his head gently. "They are all Shakyamuni Buddha. Why do you discriminate? You have blackened the Buddha’s nose out of your own selfishness."

The nun froze, looking at the smudged golden statue. Suddenly, the truth sank into her heart. She had revered her own Buddha while disregarding the others, even though they represented the same enlightened being.

This story reminds us that within the Buddha's teachings (Dharma), despite sharing the same doctrine, selfishness and sectarian discrimination—where one temple opposes another—have eroded the original spirit of equality and harmony. The Buddha is our common teacher, but when we turn Him into private property, we tarnish the Dharma itself.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thich Chan Quang