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A devotee took shelter from the rain under the eaves of a house. Seeing a Chan master pass by holding an umbrella, he called, “Chan master! Help a fellow sentient being! Please take me under your umbrella a little way.” The master answered, “I am standing in the rain. Where you are, under the eaves, there is no rain. Therefore, you need no help.”
Without hesitating, the devotee stepped into the rain, saying, “Now you must help me!” The master countered, “I am in the rain, and now you are in the rain. I am not soaked because I have an umbrella, while you are drenched because you have none. If you want to be ‘helped’ do not look to me. You must find your own umbrella!” With these words, he left.
The master’s refusal to lend his umbrella was a supreme act of compassion. If we do not use our own treasure, but think only about taking the treasure of others, how can we attain ultimate liberation? Carrying our own umbrella, we will not be drenched by rain. Embracing our own true Buddha nature, we will not be deluded by Mara.