I had woken up at 3 a.m. that morning, well ahead of the dawn meditation session. For some reason or other, I could not get back to sleep, so decided to make my way to the prayer hall and do some meditation before the nuns came. It was pitch dark inside the hall of course as no one had lighted the candles yet at that hour. I settled myself in my usual corner and closed my eyes. After a few minutes, I had this uneasy feeling that I wasn't alone in the hall. I opened my eyes and peered into the darkness. Could it be one of the nuns or maybe Head Nun herself?
As my eyes gradually got used to the darkness, I saw to my astonishment that a young monk was meditating in front of the altar. My first reaction was that I was seeing things, maybe an apparition caused by the shadows but no, it was indeed a young monk! Now how did he get in here and who gave him permission? Head Nun hadn't told us that there would be visitors to the temple.
As I was wondering what I should do, the young monk suddenly opened his eyes and gazed in my direction.
"Oh, it's you, Da," he said softly.
I was astounded. I hadn't seen him before but he knew my name!
"Er ... do I know you? How did you get in here?"
He smiled and said gently, "I live in this temple."
"What?" I gasped.
"Oh, I forgot. Look ......" he waved his hand and to my shock, he turned into Tai Koe (T.K.)! I was so stunned I couldn't speak.
(Tai Koe is the other cat who lives in the temple together with me and Ning. Ning isn't a P.R. but T.K. hag been here longer than me. See "Cat Wisdom - Don't Waste Food).
When I finally recovered, I stammered, "That young monk was you? But I don't understand ...."
T.K. smiled again. "Come, let me tell you my story." He led me to a corner of the hall, lit a candle and motioned me to sit down.
"Well," he began. "When I was a young boy, about 10, my mother sent me to a Buddhist temple to begin life as a novice. It was the last thing I wanted to do, to live in a temple and become a monk. I was put under the close eye of an old monk who was determined to train me and see that I become a full fledged monk. But being the naughty guy that I was, I refused to listen to him, I broke all the rules, and worst of all, I was always shouting abuse at the monks. Oh, I had a very foul mouth indeed! And I hated vegetarian food except for one dish - veg fish in brown sauce. I would finish every scrap given to me and if that wasn't enough, I even stole from the pot in the kitchen! On more than one occasion, I tried to run away but as fate would have it, they always found me wherever I ran. It seemed that my destiny was to become a monk!"
He paused, then continued. "Finally, the monks decided to send me back home because I was giving them so much trouble but my mother had died by then and no one would take me in, so they brought me back to the temple. Still I couldn't turn over a new leaf. By the way, not everybody can see my human form, you must be someone really special!"
"Really? How come I never saw it before?" I said, a little baffled.
T.K. shrugged, then said thoughtfully, "I don't know. Maybe the time was not right. But sometimes I wonder whether Head Nun has seen me as a boy, there were occasions when I found her looking strangely at me ..... oh, never mind."
Then T.K. started to chuckle. "Da, you won't believe what I did to the monks. I put ants in their soup, spiders under their blankets and sometimes I hid their robes after they had been washed! I would have a good laugh when they ran about in panic!"
"Oh my God! How could you!" I gasped, quite aghast at his wicked antics.
"I was really one hell of a mischievous boy! Wait till you hear the rest. One night, when everyone had gone to sleep, I went to the prayer hall and had this crazy idea of climbing up Lord Buddha's huge statue and sitting on his shoulder."
"No!" I cried.
"Oh yes, I was that naughty! I knew it was an act of sacrilege but I didn't care. Just as I touched the statue, I was taken aback when a light suddenly shone from it. It looked as though it had come to life. Then a voice boomed and said that because of my past and present atrocious conduct, I would be severely punished and condemned to live a life of pain and suffering until I learnt my lesson. Before I knew what was happening, I found myself turned into a cat. I was hurled by some force outside the temple and into the street. The gates closed behind me and I knew I had no way of getting in again."
"Oh my God," I whispered.
T.K. smiled wryly. " It was certainly very strange to be in a cat's body. I cried for help all night but nobody came. For months, I roamed the streets scrounging for food in the rubbish bins and drains. On a couple of occasions, I was run over by passing motorists. I suffered a broken leg and broken ribs. The pain was so terrible I started to beg Lord Buddha for forgiveness and for mercy. Sometimes I wished He would just let me die. Finally, maybe due to His infinite compassion, I found myself outside this temple. Head Nun took me in, treated my injuries and nursed me back to health. Up to this day, I still think I don't deserve her kindness or Lord Buddha's, for that matter."
"That's an incredible story, T.K. What happens after the 12 years? Will you turn back into a human? " I asked.
"I don't know and I don't really care. I've learnt my lesson, Da."
"I'm sorry you had to learn the hard way, T.K. Did Head Nun ever ask about where you came from?"
"No! Please don't tell her. I'm so ashamed of my wicked past! I've repented, I've learnt how to meditate, pray and so on. Let's keep this a secret, please?"
True all this while, T.K. had never given anyone in the temple any trouble. He was always quiet and kept out of everyone's way. Sometimes he joined us in our prayers too. I knew he had some knowledge of the Buddhist scriptures but he never showed off. Nobody took any notice of him most of the time.
"Alright, T.K." I finally said. "I'll keep your secret. Don't worry, I won't tell Head Nun."
Later that morning, as Head Nun served breakfast to Ning, T.K. and myself, she said, "Something special for you three this morning! Vegetarian fish cooked in brown sauce. Your favourite when you were young, right, T.K.?"
I almost choked when I heard Head Nun say that. I saw the look on T.K.'s face. It was then that I knew he knew Head Nun knew ... all along.
Footnote: T.K. died peacefully in his sleep two days before the 12 years were up. It was a very sad day for us but I think he would not have wanted it any other way.
As my eyes gradually got used to the darkness, I saw to my astonishment that a young monk was meditating in front of the altar. My first reaction was that I was seeing things, maybe an apparition caused by the shadows but no, it was indeed a young monk! Now how did he get in here and who gave him permission? Head Nun hadn't told us that there would be visitors to the temple.
As I was wondering what I should do, the young monk suddenly opened his eyes and gazed in my direction.
"Oh, it's you, Da," he said softly.
I was astounded. I hadn't seen him before but he knew my name!
"Er ... do I know you? How did you get in here?"
He smiled and said gently, "I live in this temple."
"What?" I gasped.
"Oh, I forgot. Look ......" he waved his hand and to my shock, he turned into Tai Koe (T.K.)! I was so stunned I couldn't speak.
(Tai Koe is the other cat who lives in the temple together with me and Ning. Ning isn't a P.R. but T.K. hag been here longer than me. See "Cat Wisdom - Don't Waste Food).
When I finally recovered, I stammered, "That young monk was you? But I don't understand ...."
T.K. smiled again. "Come, let me tell you my story." He led me to a corner of the hall, lit a candle and motioned me to sit down.
"Well," he began. "When I was a young boy, about 10, my mother sent me to a Buddhist temple to begin life as a novice. It was the last thing I wanted to do, to live in a temple and become a monk. I was put under the close eye of an old monk who was determined to train me and see that I become a full fledged monk. But being the naughty guy that I was, I refused to listen to him, I broke all the rules, and worst of all, I was always shouting abuse at the monks. Oh, I had a very foul mouth indeed! And I hated vegetarian food except for one dish - veg fish in brown sauce. I would finish every scrap given to me and if that wasn't enough, I even stole from the pot in the kitchen! On more than one occasion, I tried to run away but as fate would have it, they always found me wherever I ran. It seemed that my destiny was to become a monk!"
He paused, then continued. "Finally, the monks decided to send me back home because I was giving them so much trouble but my mother had died by then and no one would take me in, so they brought me back to the temple. Still I couldn't turn over a new leaf. By the way, not everybody can see my human form, you must be someone really special!"
"Really? How come I never saw it before?" I said, a little baffled.
T.K. shrugged, then said thoughtfully, "I don't know. Maybe the time was not right. But sometimes I wonder whether Head Nun has seen me as a boy, there were occasions when I found her looking strangely at me ..... oh, never mind."
Then T.K. started to chuckle. "Da, you won't believe what I did to the monks. I put ants in their soup, spiders under their blankets and sometimes I hid their robes after they had been washed! I would have a good laugh when they ran about in panic!"
"Oh my God! How could you!" I gasped, quite aghast at his wicked antics.
"I was really one hell of a mischievous boy! Wait till you hear the rest. One night, when everyone had gone to sleep, I went to the prayer hall and had this crazy idea of climbing up Lord Buddha's huge statue and sitting on his shoulder."
"No!" I cried.
"Oh yes, I was that naughty! I knew it was an act of sacrilege but I didn't care. Just as I touched the statue, I was taken aback when a light suddenly shone from it. It looked as though it had come to life. Then a voice boomed and said that because of my past and present atrocious conduct, I would be severely punished and condemned to live a life of pain and suffering until I learnt my lesson. Before I knew what was happening, I found myself turned into a cat. I was hurled by some force outside the temple and into the street. The gates closed behind me and I knew I had no way of getting in again.""Oh my God," I whispered.
T.K. smiled wryly. " It was certainly very strange to be in a cat's body. I cried for help all night but nobody came. For months, I roamed the streets scrounging for food in the rubbish bins and drains. On a couple of occasions, I was run over by passing motorists. I suffered a broken leg and broken ribs. The pain was so terrible I started to beg Lord Buddha for forgiveness and for mercy. Sometimes I wished He would just let me die. Finally, maybe due to His infinite compassion, I found myself outside this temple. Head Nun took me in, treated my injuries and nursed me back to health. Up to this day, I still think I don't deserve her kindness or Lord Buddha's, for that matter."
"That's an incredible story, T.K. What happens after the 12 years? Will you turn back into a human? " I asked.
"I don't know and I don't really care. I've learnt my lesson, Da."
"I'm sorry you had to learn the hard way, T.K. Did Head Nun ever ask about where you came from?"
"No! Please don't tell her. I'm so ashamed of my wicked past! I've repented, I've learnt how to meditate, pray and so on. Let's keep this a secret, please?"
True all this while, T.K. had never given anyone in the temple any trouble. He was always quiet and kept out of everyone's way. Sometimes he joined us in our prayers too. I knew he had some knowledge of the Buddhist scriptures but he never showed off. Nobody took any notice of him most of the time.
"Alright, T.K." I finally said. "I'll keep your secret. Don't worry, I won't tell Head Nun."
Later that morning, as Head Nun served breakfast to Ning, T.K. and myself, she said, "Something special for you three this morning! Vegetarian fish cooked in brown sauce. Your favourite when you were young, right, T.K.?"
I almost choked when I heard Head Nun say that. I saw the look on T.K.'s face. It was then that I knew he knew Head Nun knew ... all along.
Footnote: T.K. died peacefully in his sleep two days before the 12 years were up. It was a very sad day for us but I think he would not have wanted it any other way.
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