Tales of the
Living Buddha of Golden Mountain

Chapter 7: No Charge to
Bring the Dead Back to Life

A vendor was selling fish from great buckets, and people had come to buy them.

"How much do you charge per catty (jīn 斤)?"

"Seven and a half kuài 块.

But when Miàoshàn arrived he was filled with concern at so many dead and dying fish.

"Vendor, please give me your dead fish so that I can release them to live some more."

"Release dead fish? Oh come on! You poor monk. You probably are not vegetarian and just want to cheat me of some dead fish so you can eat them. How could you release dead fish to live some more? Probably just by releasing them into your stomach!"

And the bystanders said the same thing. No-one thought releasing dead fish made any sense at all.

"Well naturally I would bring them back to life first before I let them loose," Miàoshàn explained.

"That's exactly the part nobody believes."

"Well, let me try."

"Okay. I tell you what: if you can bring dead fish back to life, I'll give you all the fish here."

"It's a deal. Now just watch." And he began to chant. In a short time the fish began to move.

"Wow! The dead fish are moving."

"That's really strange!"

"Every one of them has come back to life!"

"How did that happen?" asked the fish merchant, dismayed.

"Idiot," said one of the customers. "This person is the famous Living Buddha of Golden Mountain."

So the Living Buddha took the fish to the river and released them. They floated at the surface for a few minutes, winking and waving their tails.

"What are you hanging around here for," asked Miàoshàn. "Hurry up and get away."

"Now that's truly remarkable," said one of the crowd. And it truly was.

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