Lady Lianhua was also silent,
When Zhou Xuan's storytelling began with a master taking in a Fish Demon as a disciple, she felt, "The storyteller's tale was indeed fascinating, yet the ending was inevitably mundane."
Day and night, she pondered Buddhism in the temple, while those around her recounted Zen stories, usually involving some disciple being taken in by a master, who then taught them the scriptures and Buddhist teachings.
In such narratives, the focus was always on the master, never on the disciple's thoughts and feelings, much less their confusion and inner demons.
She assumed that Zhou Xuan's "Water Buddha" story would be the same, but to her surprise, in the latter part of the story, the Fish Demon felt unworthy of becoming a Buddha—even going so far as to narrate all its inner demons, with the master answering each in turn.
Every question and answer seemed predetermined,
Every sip and bite had its cause.
