The Stone Mason —
Enlightenment Returns Us to Our Natural Self

News 151, Master Tells Stories
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Hsihu, Formosa • July 10, 1995
(originally in English) Videotape No. 487

There once was a stone mason who was very diligent. Every day, he broke stones into pieces and made things with them or perhaps sold them. Even if it was extremely hot in Miaoli, he never stopped. He worked and worked continuously, using a very large, powerful hammer and broke all the stones into pieces. These stones were then used by people to pave the roads, the area where they sat in the meditation hall, and any place where small pieces of stone (gravel) were needed. This was the result of his work.

The mason inherited this job from his great-grandfather, and then from his grandfather and then from his father. So, there were many generations of stone masons in his family. He was a very diligent and strong man. Sometimes he also worked during his lunch break because he wanted to earn extra money for his family; he would work until very late in the evening then go home and sleep. That’s all.

Many of his friends and neighbors were envious of his health and his extremely free lifestyle. He seemed very much at ease and independent. However on the contrary, this man (his name meant “power”) didn’t feel contented about his lot, but always wished to have a nobler kind of life — richer, with more luxuries and higher living. So he wasn’t always happy.

One day, he was breaking stones, perhaps next to the Nectar River. It was morning, and the sun was rising. Suddenly, he saw a lot of dust coming toward him, like a big cloud. And then in the middle of the dust cloud appeared a big, beautiful four-horse carriage, on top of which sat a very big, fat and dignified officer of the king. He had so many bodyguards around him and so many other horses surrounding him and behind him that he looked very terrific, majestic and distinguished.

A Miraculous Transformation

Upon seeing this sight, the stone mason stood aghast, with mouth open and eyes wide, and felt very miserable. Deep, deep in his heart, he suddenly had a wish and said, “I wish I could be a great Mandarin, a great officer of the king.” Then suddenly there came a huge, thunder-like noise from the mountain top: “Boom!” Because the king of the mountain had heard the stone mason’s wish and made it come true. Next the stone mason instantly became a very big officer. He changed into a prime minister, and everything he ever wished for came to him. He had money, a big palace, bodyguards and a great, great, great estate. And all the people respected him: Everywhere he went, people just crawled in the dirt and dared not look up. And he would spill dust over them and they remained cheerful; they dared not say anything.

The stone mason was very proud of himself. Every day he had to go around, take care of the country for the king and report to him when he came back. And every time he entered the court, he had to kneel down and prostrate himself before the king. He also had to wear official clothing, which was very thick and studded with all kinds of precious stones like diamonds and pearls. So it was a pretty heavy outfit. And in addition he had to wear a hat, which was also studded with precious stones and gold and silver, befitting his rank. Every time he had to bow down, his back ached, and he tried to keep his waist stuck together; otherwise it would break in half. So he felt very bad, but he never dared to take off his official clothes.

One day, while he was still bearing this situation for the sake of glory and wealth and the adoration that people all around him bestowed on him, the king sent him to a very faraway place to take care of some state business. And in order to get to the area, he had to go through a very great desert, which was exceedingly hot. But he couldn’t take off his clothes because of his rank. Everywhere he went, he had to be a big minister and nothing else. It was so hot, he nearly died there. And then his hat became three times heavier than usual. He was also sweating inside, and his clothes were thus soaked and heavier than normal. So then he thought, “Oh my God, being a prime minister is really, really terrible. I don’t want to be a prime minister anymore. I think I’ll just die here! I think I’d rather be a king. If I could be a king, it would be better. I wouldn’t have to go through the desert like this, and I wouldn’t have to take orders from anyone. I could do what I wanted, and would have many wives. So, wow! That would be fantastic, to be king. I want to be king. I only want to be king, nothing else; I want to be a king, all right?”

A Wish for the Glory of Kingship Fulfilled

And then unexpectedly, he heard another “Boom!” a very loud sound, and then the king of the mountain, his friend, the god of the mountain, made his wish come true. So the stone mason was transformed into a king who ruled a very great nation, and had great wealth and many beautiful wives. And everyone knelt before him and did everything he wished.

So he was contented for a while. But then the honeymoon was over and he had to work very late into the night because many reports from different ministers and provincial chiefs and the state governor came to him every day. And each day he had to discuss the country’s problems late into the night with many of his ministers. So then he couldn’t sleep very well at night. He worried about his job, matters of state and the urgent business related to things happening in his country that he couldn’t resolve quickly and peacefully.

With continuous problems both around and within his country, he couldn’t sleep very well, he couldn’t eat and he couldn’t enjoy all his beautiful wives. He was too miserable to even look at them. When you’re miserable, you don’t enjoy anything. So he couldn’t eat; he couldn’t even enjoy the food that he wished to have, and he couldn’t enjoy the women that he had always desired to possess. He became very miserable and only ensconced himself in his duties, worries and anxieties, and the demands of his subjects, enemies, friends and anyone who desired things from him. Because he was the king, the top, the only one, everyone came to him with problems, both within and without, and thus he began to feel that now his kingship was not really a blessing but a punishment. He felt very tired and worn out.

Even the Sun Has Its Dark Moments

Then one day, a neighboring country invaded his nation, and because he was defeated he had to run away and hide. He had no food to eat during his flight, and he was also very tired and felt hot. With his enemies at his heels and his life at stake, he began thinking that it was terrible to be a king, absolutely terrible! It was a mistake that he had wished to become a king. And then he looked up and saw that the sun was very free and very high; no one could touch it, and it was shining and beautiful! So he said, “Oh, my God! To be the Sun; it’s better to be a Sun. I’d like to be a Sun. I don’t like being a king. I’d like to be a Sun.”

And so, “Bang!” he was up, and found himself on top of the universe, shining his love and warmth on all things from atop the earth. He was very glad bestowing his blessings on all the beings in the world. And he felt very magnificent, happy and noble indeed because he thought he was the highest in the universe. He looked down on all beings feeling very noble and delighted.

So he closed his eyes and meditated for a while and then suddenly said, “How come it’s so dark? It was so dark that his wisdom eye opened and he said, “Oh!” There was a big cloud in front of him, daring to cover him completely! And then he began struggling inside it and didn’t know how to get out. It was all dark, covering his wisdom eye as well. (Laughter) So he saw nothing and was very mad, saying, “I have to be a cloud. I must be a cloud! A cloud is greater than the Sun. The Sun is no good.”

Discontented with Being a Cloud and a Mountain

So then, “Boom!” You know what happened again! (Laughter) The never-satisfied man got satisfied once more. He turned into a cloud. Then for a while, he was very pleased. He rained down on the people, destroying many things, and then blessed the land by making all the flowers grow with the water from his cloud. He made everyone happy, and he was happy, too. For a while he was very satisfied. And then suddenly, the wind came! And it reduced him to nothingness. He grew thinner and thinner, smaller and smaller, until he was like a thread, just hanging around trying to keep himself alive. And then he again got very angry. Still, he thought that he was OK, that maybe he could get together and return to being big again.

But then the wind blew him across a mountain top, and the mountain caught him, like someone catching your clothes. And he was caught there, hanging on top of the mountain, and he became irritated, saying, “Everything comes and goes, but the mountain always stands there; it never disappears, never gets destroyed, nothing! It’s always strong. Oh! I wish I were a mountain! I must be a mountain. A mountain is the best.” So, “Boom!” That sound came back again! And you know what he turned into? (A: “A mountain.”) A mountain! So then he was again very joyful. He had become a mountain. Not even the rain, wind, snow or sun — nothing could disturb the mountain. He sat like this (Master extends Her elbows outward in a mock show of sturdiness) just like me. (Laughter) He was feeling that the mountain was very great, and stuck his nose up to the sky. He felt he was very great. Every day he looked up and felt that he was very grand. (Laughter)

And then one day, he felt like someone was poking his feet with a knife or nails or something like that, and as he looked down he said, “Oh!” There was a stone mason breaking the stone of his feet down there. Of course, he got crazily mad and yelled, “How dare you poke my feet! That hurts!” But the mason didn’t care. He used his big hammer and very pointed chisel and just broke away the stones, one by one, and he was enjoying himself, singing and whistling at the same time. So, wow! He then got even angrier and said, “W-a-a-h ha-ha, I must be the stone mason!” (Laughter)

After Enlightenment We Truly Possess the Ordinary Mind

This is similar to us. Sometimes people say, “The ordinary mind is the Buddha’s mind,” but we don’t believe it. We don’t know what that is. And we actually don’t know until after enlightenment, and then we come back to being normal again. Then we know that everything is OK and realize that we know what the ordinary mind is. Before that, even though we have it, we don’t know.

The so-called normal way that people lead their lives is not the ordinary mind. The real ordinary mind is one that’s peaceful and calm, that takes everything as it comes and reacts to everything as needed. There’s no desire, no wanting, no rejecting and no agitation of any kind. That’s the ordinary mind. But the way people lead their daily lives is not what’s meant by the ordinary mind.

So take care that you don’t mistake the unenlightened with the enlightened, the enlightened with the super-enlightened, and the super-enlightened with the non-enlightened state of mind. After we become very enlightened, somehow we begin to stop talking. At first when we aren’t very enlightened, we talk a lot; we know everything. We know what “the Buddha” means, as well as Nirvana, samsara, karma, transmigration — everything. We know all the big words from all the religious sects. We know it all.

Then, after we become somewhat enlightened, we talk even more but our words have more essence. Our speech has a better meaning than before because we have a greater understanding of the meaning of words that we often said before but didn’t know the true meaning of. So there are two stages of talking. The latter stage of talk is of course more meaningful and honest because it comes from our own realization. And then after that, after the talking stage, we begin to be quiet. We don’t want to talk anymore. So of course you wonder why I talk (Master laughs.) — because you want me to talk.

Not talking doesn’t mean keeping quiet all day long. Because if a person doesn’t talk, it doesn’t mean he’s quiet. And if a person ceases all activity, it doesn’t mean she’s peaceful. So talking or not talking is not an external thing; it’s from the inside. At that time, you talk but you know it’s not necessary to talk. You talk at the request of other people or just to be a normal person or to make others happy. Or you just talk because talking or not talking is the same to you. It’s not such enthusiastic talk; it’s not such impressive talk anymore, like we want to make others convert to our beliefs or anything like that. It’s very casual and very normal. So, that’s it. That’s the story of the stone mason. It’s amazing isn’t it? It’s exactly like we are.

Copyright © The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association
All Rights Reserved.