The woodcutter goes up the mountain to chop wood every day before dawn. By sunrise, two full bundles of firewood are already placed upright beside the big trees in the forest. At this time, he chooses a clean rock to sit on, enjoying a hearty pipe of dry tobacco while admiring the grandeur of the eastern sky! After finishing his smoke and watching the sunrise, he goes down the mountain to the market to sell the two carefully selected bundles of good firewood at a good price, then buys some daily necessities urgently needed at home, or gets some clothes for his wife and son. And so, another day passes.
On the mountain lives a giant python, estimated to have lived for a thousand years, who has experienced the changing seas and fields over time. It has a bit of intelligence, which is not surprising. What is surprising is that this time, after the woodcutter bundles a load of firewood, the giant snake transforms into a human shape and takes the initiative to strike up a conversation with the woodcutter.
"I've been watching you for a long time, honest old woodcutter!" the giant snake suddenly descends from the sky and appears before the woodcutter.
"I don't know you, and I've never seen you, young man! Did you come to the mountain specifically to watch the sunrise? What a beautiful sunrise! Come, let's sit on the rock together and enjoy the gift of heaven, and then go our separate ways. Don't we both have things to do?" the woodcutter said, wrapped in smoke.
"Yes, I come out to watch the sunrise at this time every day, and I also see you, old woodcutter. I have seen many heroes and warriors come up the mountain, and after watching the sunrise, they would utter their bold words. What a marvelous world this is! People of all kinds have the right to reach the top of this great mountain to witness the sun's emergence and the gentle beauty of innocence!"
"Young man, judging by your words, you seem like a wanderer who has seen much of the world! Come, have a smoke, and let's have a good talk. Please also help me resolve the confusion in my heart."
The giant snake unreservedly took the pipe and inhaled deeply. After finishing one pipe, he returned it to the woodcutter and said, "You let me smoke from the pipe you personally filled — it is a supreme favor to me. I promise to help answer the confusion that has accumulated in your heart for many years!"
The woodcutter said, "I have been cutting firewood on the mountain for more than fifty years. My grandfather and my father both made a living by chopping wood. I want to know, will my descendants also earn a living by chopping wood? Fate always seems to favor the wealthy!" The woodcutter said this with a deep sense of helplessness, tears glistening in his eyes.
"Let me tell you a story," said the giant snake, "Once there was an old fisherman who had a child late in life and made a living by fishing!"He prayed to the Bodhisattva day and night, praying that his descendants would no longer make a living from fishing, because it was indeed a dangerous profession. So the fisherman sent his children to private schools, which made the family's life even more difficult.
One day, the fisherman went to the sea to fish as usual. This time, his luck was extremely bad, and he didn't catch a single fish. The fisherman returned home in disappointment. His fishing became increasingly laborious, and with no other choice, he had to let his son drop out of school to help at home. One can skip a day of studying, but one cannot skip a meal. Thus, the fisherman's son also became a fisherman. The fisherman, who had attended private school, still went out to sea to fish every day, but after each trip, he would sit on the fishing boat and watch the sunrise over the sea. 'What a magnificent sunrise, belonging only to the creatures of the sea life,' said the young fisherman. At that moment, a breeze would rise over the sea and blow on the fisherman's face, pulling him back to reality. After fishing, the fisherman liked to row his boat to secluded areas of the sea, where he would watch seagulls and release a few of the precious fish from his storage back into the sea, before happily taking the rest to the market to sell. When it was the off-season and the sea yielded few fish, the fish market prices would triple. At that time, the fisherman would row to the secluded area he frequently visited. That previously secluded area was a shallow sea where the fisherman would lay nets and stock the fish he usually caught. In this way, the fisherman who made a living by fishing gained a modest fortune, and from then on, he left the sea life behind and used that money to start other profitable businesses…
The firewood gatherer pondered and said, 'I understand, if you want to get rich, you have to work better than your peers!' After speaking, he bowed to the giant snake three times, then turned away from it. When the firewood gatherer went down the mountain, the giant snake rose to the heavens on a cloud. It seemed that he had once again fulfilled a great merit.
The fisherman still went to the mountain every day to gather firewood, but he gave up his habit of watching the sunrise daily. He used this time to collect some herbs, dry them, and sell them to the pharmacy, which was much easier than selling firewood. He knew exactly where every tree grew and where every herb grew on the mountain. The firewood gatherer helped the pharmacists collect many rare and difficult-to-find herbs.
Before long, the firewood gatherer escaped the life of poverty, and his descendants no longer worked as firewood gatherers.
