[Buddha-l] Rice & Dragons

[Artur Karp]

> My spring answer is: because it remains protected, under the ever
> watchful eyes of benevolent dragons.

Faxian, “Record of the Buddhistic Kingdoms” (H. A. Giles, transl.),
1877, pp. 36-37

<<Where they live there is a white-eared dragon which acts as a patron
to these priests by making the land fertile, causing rain to fall in
due season, and warding off all kinds of calamities, so that the
priests dwell in peace. The priests out of gratitude for such kindness
have built a dragon shrine and haveprepared a place for the dragon to
lie down. They also make special contributions of food offerings for
the dragon, and every day select three members of the fraternity to go
and eat in the dragon's shrine. At the end of each rainy season, the
dragon suddenly changes its form to that of a small snake with white
edges to its ears. When the priests are aware of this they fill a
copper bowl with cream and throw the dragon into it; and as they
proceed from the highest seat to the lowest it appears as if bowing.
When the dragon has gone all round, it dissolves away. Every year it
comes out once. This country is very productive; the people are
flourishing, and happy beyond all comparison.>>

Best,

Artur

PS. It started to rain. Reminds me of autumn, and of Leopold Staff's
poem - "Autumnal rain", good to meditate on its sound if one wants to
enter the first, or maybe even second jhana:

O szyby deszcz dzwoni, deszcz dzwoni jesienny
I pluszcze jednaki, miarowy, niezmienny,
Dżdżu krople padają i tłuką w me okno...
Jęk szklany... płacz szklany... a szyby w mgle mokną
I światła szarego blask sączy się senny...
O szyby deszcz dzwoni, deszcz dzwoni jesienny...

A.