Strange Stories From A Chinese Studio.

Summary

In "The Dead Monk," a wandering Dao Shi encounters a bloodied monk in a locked temple who, after laughing maniacally while embracing a Buddha statue, disappears by dawn. The Dao Shi later discovers the monk's dead body in the ransacked room. Villagers find hidden gold in the Buddha's head, which they use for the monk's burial. The tale reflects on the folly of hoarding wealth, as remarked by the Chronicler of Odd Histories, highlighting the absurdity of a monk clinging to riches in life and death, emphasizing that material wealth cannot accompany one after death, but one's sins will persist.

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