Fallen Buddha

Mayflies are born in the morning and die by nightfall. They are the creatures least likely to cultivate the Dao.

Yet a hundred years ago, a dying mayfly was inadvertently enlightened by a revered monk. She gained intelligence, became a demon, and was given the name Chi You.

Knowing her powers were meager, Chi You hid at the bottom of a lake and diligently cultivated after gaining her intelligence. For a hundred years, she never slacked off.

At last, she cultivated a human form. But as soon as she poked her head above the water, she saw the world around her turned upside down and laid to waste.

A revered monk was fighting a snake demon that had been wreaking havoc among mortals. Their battle had brought them here. The monk struck with a sacred seal, and the snake demon was done for. Chi You... was done for too.

When she opened her eyes again, Chi You discovered she had become a Buddhist prayer bead hanging from the monk's neck.

The monk told her that he had wrongfully killed an innocent, and would help her reach rebirth.

Chi You: Fine, then. He enlightened me a hundred years ago, allowing me to survive until now, and now he's sending me on my way. I'd say we're even.

However, transforming a demon was no easy task.

And so the monk, who had always been free of worldly desires, embarked on a path he had never imagined taking.

Every day when he woke, he heard the incessant chatter of a woman:

"Master, I'm so hungry. Boo-hoo, I really want some barbecue."

The master, dressed in his monk's robes and carrying an alms bowl, took on demon-hunting jobs for others in exchange for a meal of barbecue.

"Master, I'm so bored. Do you have any storybooks?"

The master, as elegant as moonlight on a clear night, walked into a bookstore. He ignored the Buddhist scriptures and picked out romance novels instead.

People praised the revered monk for his compassion, saying he would go to any lengths to help a demon reach rebirth.

But when the mayfly demon truly disappeared, the monk took off his robes, set down his bowl, and stubbornly searched the world for a way to make her stay forever.

Someone asked him, "What is it you want to last forever?"

The monk replied, "A mayfly."

Among all living things, a mayfly in this dusty world is born at dawn and dies at dusk, longing for a love that runs deep.

Theme: All things are born to follow their own path.