Great Master Ma's "Sun-Faced Buddha"
Great Master Ma was gravely ill.
The temple steward asked him, "
Venerable, how has your health been these days?" The master replied,
"Sun-Faced Buddha, Moon-Faced Buddha."
Reflection
Great Master Ma's reply 'Sun-Faced Buddha, Moon-Faced Buddha' when asked about his illness is a teaching on non-duality. The Sun-Faced Buddha lives 1,800 years, the Moon-Faced Buddha only one day and night. By uttering both, Ma indicates that long life and short life, health and sickness, are equal expressions of Buddha-nature.