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This is a lovely story, with a message that should be an example to all of us. It was first published in 1999 in the form of a letter, under my nom de plume, Li Mei Ching. As it was written in that format, I was unable to include the poems which accompany this story and I thought it would be appropriate to include them here, in it's full version. This is an old story, often used to express the Chinese ideal of embrasing the 3 religions, Buddhism, Confuscism and Daoism and for the sake of authenticity, I have given the story it's proper title. Three Doctrines Struggling for Preeminence Many years ago, there was a village that had a temple dedicated to the Three Doctrines, where there were images of Buddha, Confucius and Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism. One day a group of passing Confucian students went into the temple to pay their respects. When they saw the image of Buddha in the central position, they were very angry and moved they moved the image to one sideand put the image of Confucious in it's place. To justify their actions, they left a poem explaining that Confucianism was the best of the Three Doctrines and that only by following Confucious was it possible to attain enlightenment.
Shortly after this, a group of Taoist students passed by and entered the temple to pay their respects. When they saw the image of Confucius in the central position, they too were very angry and moved it to one side and placed the imgae of Lao Tzu in the middle. They also left a poem, explaining that only Taoism offered enlightenment and that everyone else was misguided.
Finally, a group of Buddhists entered the temple to pay their respects and seeing the image of Lao Tzu in the central position, they were angry and just as the others had so before them, moved the image of Buddha to the central position. They too left a poem, explaining that only through the teachings of Buddha, was it possible to become enlightened.
As the Buddhists left the temple, they met the other two groups and as dispute began, each goup insisting that the others were wrong. Just as the situation was turning into a serious conflict, an old man suddenly appeared and asked all the groups to follow him into the temple. When everyone was inside, he produced a poem that he had written, pointing out that they all shared the same common principles.
After everyone had heard the Old Man's poem, the Confucianists, the Taoists and the Buddhists were all filled with shame and they all left the temple, highly embarrassed by their actions. This story is as appropriate today as it was when it was first written and provides us all with an example of how not to behave. I would like to acknowledge the work of Arthur Smith, who translated this poem for the benefit of us all, way back in 1888, in his book, Proverbs and Common Sayings from the Chinese Return to mythology
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