Shide
was Hanshan’s companion and fellow poet. His name means “picked up.” He had been an abandoned orphan, found in the
forest by a monk who heard him crying.
The monk brought the infant back to the Guoqing temple, where, when he
was older, he was given work doing general cleaning and maintenance. Once, when he was told to clean the
meditation hall, the monks found him seated companionably in front of the
statue of the Buddha, helping himself to the fruit which had been left on the
altar as an offering, as if sharing a snack with a friend.
He
became friends with Hanshan and would save leftovers which he set aside in a
hidden place for him to pick up during his visits to the monastery.
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