Short-Short Story: 'Wooden Fish Review' (Weekly Short-Short Note 8/31 Prompt)

"Wooden Fish No. 16: Beautiful streamlines, intense gaze."

Fish do not sleep.
Because they keep their eyes wide open and never close them, people used to think that.
Fish eventually harbor divine power and become dragons.
From that, it is said that the wooden fish (mokugyo) was born as a warning to monks, implying that if one practices without sleeping, one can attain enlightenment.

There are many monks at my temple.
It is famous for its rigorous training.
Literally, they continue to chant sutras without sleeping.
The ultimate goal is to traverse the sacred mountains without food or water, then seclude oneself in the hall to become a living Buddha (sokushinbutsu).
Only a limited number of people reach that point, attain enlightenment, and become Buddhas.
Those who give up are punished by being made to become one with a wooden fish.

My secret hobby is collecting wooden fish.
Wooden fish are wonderful.
Each one has a different shape, a different thought behind it.
Though they may look the same, their expressions are different.
I line up the wooden fish in a secret room, observe them, and write my impressions in a book.

"Wooden Fish No. 21: A face of agony, one of a kind."

As the moisture leaves the body, and the eyes widen from extreme hunger and sleep deprivation, they become fish.
The dry skin, having lost its color and turned brown, is truly a wooden fish.

Ah, how beautiful the wooden fish are.

↓ I am participating in this project.