The cook-monk Deirio at Bankei Monastery decided that he should take good care of his old teacher's health and give him only fresh miso - a dough made from soybeans mixed with wheat and yeast, which turns sour very quickly. Bankei, noticing that he was being given better miso than the students, asked:
- Who's cooking today?
Deirio was sent to him, and Bankei was told that due to his age and position, he needed to eat fresh miso. Bankei said to the cook:
“Then I’ll stop eating altogether.”
He entered his room and closed the door. Deirio, sitting outside the door, begged the teacher to forgive him. Bankei did not answer. For seven days Deirio sat under the door, and Bankei sat in a locked room. Finally, the monk, in despair, called out to Bankei:
“You may be right, old teacher, but your young student must eat, otherwise he will never be able to walk again.”
Bankei opened the door. He smiled. He told Deirio:
“I want to eat the same food as the last of my students.” When you become a teacher, I want you to remember this.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru