Date: 09/06/2025 09/07/2025
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Shilin Long
Dharma Talk
The Purple-Polished Gold Basin
There was once a young man who, together with his uncle, made a living through trade and often traveled to foreign lands to purchase goods. One day, the border river was deep and full of waves. The young man stayed behind to guard their merchandise while the uncle crossed the river first.
Near the riverbank lived a poor household — a mother and her daughter depending on each other for survival. When the uncle knocked on their door and stated his identity, the mother signaled her daughter to bring out their old, worn bathing basin to exchange for a few pearls. The daughter respectfully presented the basin, and both mother and daughter held their breath in anticipation.
The basin was old and covered with deep grime, blackened and greasy, mixed with the smell of their humble and shabby home. The uncle, a seasoned merchant who had weathered many storms in life, had long learned not to judge value by superficial appearance. He drew out his short dagger, scraped the thick grime with force, and examined its true nature.
“Purple-polished gold!” He nearly exclaimed aloud. This was a treasure encountered once in a thousand lifetimes — how could it have ended up in such an inconspicuous home? Yet just as the dust of life had long buried his once innocent and upright heart, he remained outwardly calm, pretending not to care. He casually tossed the basin to the ground. “Hmph, it dirtied my hand. Worthless!” he said, and walked away, leaving the mother and daughter in tearful shame.
Stepping out the door, the uncle’s face lit with barely concealed joy. Upon returning to the opposite shore where the young man waited, he said nothing, rummaging through their chests to find some leftover inferior pearls. With the tacit understanding the two had developed over years, the young man, after greeting him, crossed the river to conduct business.
The young man sat drinking tea while the mother and daughter whispered in the kitchen.
“The humiliation just now should be enough to warn us,” the mother said with deep grievance.
“Mother, this man looks kind and compassionate, completely unlike the one from before. Why don’t we try again?” the daughter suggested. She once again brought out the basin.
The young man, trained in business by his uncle, repeated the exact same scraping technique. The difference was, as a devout Buddhist disciple who upheld pure precepts, his heart was clean.
“Purple-polished gold!” the young man blurted out, stunning the mother and daughter. “This is a supreme treasure, rare and precious. I beg you to let me exchange all my goods for it — will you agree?”
The mother’s eyes widened in shock; she could not even finish her sentence. She was too surprised. The daughter breathed a sigh of relief and asked rationally, “Could you lend us two gold coins so we can hire a boat to transport goods?”
“Not lend — this is what I ought to do!” the young man replied without hesitation. He then returned to the opposite shore, borrowed two gold coins from his uncle, and agreed on a time and place to meet again. He instructed the boatman to deliver all the goods to the mother and daughter’s home before leaving.
Later, the uncle came to the mother and daughter’s home with some inferior pearls, only to find their shabby hut filled with the young man’s merchandise. Pushing the door open, he was secretly astonished. Putting on his seasoned merchant’s facade, he coldly handed over the lusterless pearls. “Where’s that filthy basin?” he asked.
The mother’s gentle face darkened. Picking up a broom, she shouted, “A kind young man exchanged hundreds of bags of fine pearls for it, apologizing all the while that it wasn’t worth the purple-polished gold basin. You cunning swindler, leave at once! Otherwise, I won’t be polite!”
The uncle hurried along the agreed route, traveling day and night. At last, he caught up with the young man at the seashore. His greedy mind was filled with the image of the purple-polished gold basin. He ran toward the young man, shouting hoarsely, “Give me back my treasure!” But in his fury, his blood surged, and he collapsed, never to rise again.
Seeing this, the young man rushed to his side, but it was too late. From his pocket, he took out the two gold coins and gently placed them in his uncle’s still-warm palm. Tears streamed down like a broken dam.
“My dear uncle, why sacrifice your precious life for the sake of greed?”
