The Story of the Three Buddhist Monks

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

A young Buddhist monk named Chin Lee is making a pilgrimage to Wutai,
the site of a holy shrine in China. The journey is so grueling that Chin
Lee decides to rest at a remote empty temple he has discovered on the
side of a mountain. He is soon joined by another monk, who is making the
same journey. At first Chin Lee and his companion are glad of each
other’s company. But soon they begin to argue over how the daily
chores should be divided up. When a third monk arrives, the squabbling
only becomes worse. Suddenly an emergency occurs, and the three
quarrelsome monks must learn how to work together or they will lose
their temple.

Although this story was adapted from a traditional Chinese folktale,
the spectacle of three supposedly learned and holy men acting like
spoiled children will tickle a funny bone anywhere in the world. Each
monk can see only the merit of his own argument, and all three are
stubborn to the point of self-destruction. By letting her characters
show both their strengths and weaknesses, the author brings out both the
appealing and the repulsive sides of human nature. Nelson Daboud’s
illustrations are adequate but slightly uneven in their execution.
Recommended.