Ancient Tales of Wisdom

A story of two young monk’s who where assigned to ring the bell

A story of two young monks

A young monk in a temple was assigned to ring the bell. According to temple rules, he was to ring the bell daily, once in the morning and once in the evening. At first he was quite serious. But six months later he felt his duty was too mechanical and boring. One day the temple abbot announced a change of duty for the young monk and had him carry water and cut wood in the forest. He no longer wanted him near the bell. The young monk felt strange and asked the abbot, “Was it because my ringing the bell was not on time, not resounding?” The abbot told him, “The bell sound was very loud, but the sound was hallow, worn out. Because your mind didn’t understand the significance of ringing the bell, also you didn’t do it truly attentively. The sound of the bell is not merely the temple clock, the more important part is to awaken the sinking, confused sentient beings. Therefore, the sound of the bell must not only be sonorous, but also be rounded, vigorous, deep and distant. If a person’s heart does not contain the deeper meaning of the bell, it is the same as not having reverence for a Buddha. If one is not sincere, how can he take on the duty of ringing the bell?” Hearing these words the monk felt ashamed. Thereafter, he cultivated with additional concentration and finally became an outstanding monk.

Early one morning an older monk heard an intermittent bell sound. He couldn’t help but attentively listen to it. As soon as the bell sound ended he couldn’t wait, and called someone over, asking, “Who was ringing the bell?” The monk who responded to the call replied, “A young monk, recently arrived.” The older monk asked the new monk, “This morning, when I heard you ring the bell, what kind mood were you in?” The new monk didn’t understand why the old monk asked him this and replied, “No particular mood. I was only ringing the bell.” The old monk said, “Could it be? When I heard the bell you must have been thinking of something in particular, because the sound I heard was extremely noble. Only a wholehearted person could evoke this sound.” The novice monk thought for a moment and said, “Actually, I didn’t think of something else. Before I became a monk, my family teacher often reminded me that when i ringing the bell I should think of the bell as a Buddha. I must sincerely respect the bell as a Buddha, and must use the heart of scarifying myself and worshiping a Buddha to ring the bell.” The old monk was extremely satisfied and reminded him over and over, “From now on, when you deal with other things, make sure you don’t forget today’s mindset.”

As a matter of fact, this not only applies to the bell. But In all things, using the mind and paying full attention are extremely important. The abbot relieved the first young monk in the story because he simply went through the motions and did not consider it a sacred duty of cultivation. He lacked respect and lacked the mindful attention to do this task with a sense of priority, and lacked responsibility. That is why the bell sounded hollow and worn out. The second monk served the bell well, because he understood the reason, to “respect the bell as Buddha.” His mind was filled with the respect for the Buddha. That is why he would naturally be responsible and wholeheartedly do his duty. The effect would certainly be good. A proverb says, “One can tell whether one has good or poor ambition simply by observing how he lights the fire and sweeps the floor.” Only when one can do well in small things can one do well in important things. This also validates the truth that only when one’s thoughts are righteous can one conduct righteous actions

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