I didn't know how long I sat there and I would have continued if it hadn't been for someone calling. I opened my eyes and saw to my astonishment a bright blue fish prancing up and down by the river bank.
"A Mi Tuo Fo" it sang. I was amazed - a talking fish and one who could chant the Buddha's name!
"My name is Ananda," it continued. "Will you spend some time with me and my friends?"
"Er ... I' m sorry ... you have taken me by surprise!" I stammered, truly taken aback.
The fish let out a sharp whistle and suddenly dozens of brightly coloured fish appeared from beneath the waters of the river, their beautiful scales shining in the morning sunlight.
"These are my friends, little cat," said Ananda. "Let me explain. We were once disciples of the Lord Buddha and lived in Nirvana with him. Unfortunately due to our bad behaviour, we were expelled and cast down to earth to live in this river. We very much regret what we have done and now long to hear the Dhamma again. Would you be so kind as to talk to us on the Dhamma? We know you're from the temple nearby and have considerable knowledge of the Buddha's teachings."
I was flabbergasted. For a moment, I was unable to speak. Fish who wanted to hear the Dhamma! It was incredible. I began to think I was dreaming. But no, they were as real as life and dancing about in the river.
"I ... I don't know, I mean ... if you really want to hear the Dhamma, perhaps I should get someone from the temple," I said.
"No, your friends from the temple would never believe you when you tell them about us. Please, will you help us?"
Ananda looked at me with big, imploring eyes. Dozens of fish eyes also gazed at me beseechingly. How could I refuse them?
"Alright," I said at last, "but you must give me time to read up. I'm afraid I have to refresh my memory before I can speak to you on the Dhamma."
"Oh, thank you, little cat! We shall wait for you here tomorrow morning at the same time." With that, Ananda and his friends dived back into the river.
"Tomorrow morning! That's hardly giving me time to read up!" I protested, but they had gone.
I hurried back to the temple and brought out the books Head Nun had given me. I spent the whole afternoon and evening reading ... I was dismayed to find that I had forgotten most of what I had studied earlier - the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path and so on. It was close to midnight by the time I finished. Fortunately Head Nun and the other nuns were busy doing their prayers and paid little attention to me - it would have been rather difficult to explain to them about Ananda and his friends.
The next morning, I got up early and went down to the river with my books. Ananda and friends were already there, waiting impatiently. I prayed to the Lord Buddha before I began, asking him to guide me. I then began to read slowly, pausing now and then as they asked questions. I was amazed I was able to answer most of their questions - surely the Lord Buddha must be guiding me!
We continued thus for the next four or five mornings. I was indeed beginning to enjoy our daily meetings, so did the fish. I noticed more had joined them, some of whom Ananda said were their new friends from the river.
It was on the sixth morning that disaster struck. We were discussing a passage about meditation when I heard a noise behind me. I turned round and saw to my horror that it was a fisherman! He had a big net in his hands and it was apparent that he had been hiding behind us and watching everything that was going on. Then before I could stop him, he had hurled the net into the river and captured Ananda and his friends."Stop struggling, you silly fish. It is my good fortune today to have come to the river. You're going to earn me big money ..!" the fisherman yelled, laughing as he drew in his net.
"Help us, Da!" screamed Ananda.
"Stop! Stop!" I shouted. "Let them go!" But the fisherman just laughed, bundled all the fish into a big basket and ran off. I chased after him but he was too fast for me. As luck would have it, Yunzhi, my old friend, came by. I managed to gasp a quick explanation and Yunzhi ran after the old man. He caught up with him and stopped him.
"Look, old man, I'll give you all my money here if you would let me have the fish you caught just now," said Yunzhi.
"Are you crazy? These are talking fish - I'm going to be rich when I sell them!"
"Here, take this money," said Yunzhi and pressed some notes into the old man's hand, and without waiting for a reply, grabbed the basket of fish and ran back to the river. Ananda and his friends dived back into the waters and disappeared.
"You two are nuts," yelled the old man. "I could have been very rich ..." He shook his fist at us and finally went away clutching Yunzhi's money.
"Thanks, Yunzhi," I said. "I would never have forgiven myself if my friends had been taken to the market and sold. I shall never be able to repay you for your kindness."
Yunzhi smiled and said, "Any time, my friend. If you need my help again, you know where to find me."
The next morning, I ran back to the river and was not surprised to see that a big crowd had gathered there. The old fisherman had spread the news that there were talking fish in the river and everyone had come to see them, some with nets, some with big buckets hoping to catch them. I knew of course that Ananda and his friends were clever enough not to make an appearance and had probably swum away somewhere. After they had waited for the whole morning and it was clear that the fish were not going to appear, the crowd dispersed, grumbling that they had been fooled by a silly old man.
As soon as they had gone, I whispered softly into the river, "Ananda, Ananda! It's safe now, you can come out." There was a splash and Ananda jumped out of the water.
"Thanks, Da, for saving us. However, it will not be safe anymore for us to continue living in this part of the river. We shall move upstream, deep into the mountains. No one will be able to find us there. Thank you for teaching us. We shall certainly miss listening to you. Oh, by the way, here's something for your friend who helped to save us."
With that, he spat out a beautiful pink pearl, the size of an egg.
"Give this pearl to your friend. He sacrificed all his money to save us - this pearl will make up for it. Goodbye, my friend."
My eyes were misty as I watched him dive back into the water. "Good luck, Ananda and may the blessings of the Buddha go with you all," I said softly.
I made my way to Yunzhi's shack and gave him the pearl. He was delighted and said he would use the money from its sale wisely. He persuaded me to stay for tea, which I did and we talked of many things, past and present.
The sun was beginning to set when I left for home. It had been a tiring day and all that I wanted was to get back into my basket and go to sleep.
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