This story is taken from Yongxian Qu 2024, 从黑暗世界归来的谷魂：南传佛教影响下的谷种起源叙事的变迁 Rice Souls Returning from the Dark World: The Evolution of Rice Origin Narratives under the Influence of Theravada Buddhism. The word Ya means grandmother, Huan /Xawn means Soul or Guardian Spirit and Hao/Xao means rice. Ya is a common affix used for Dai female deities such as Ya Seng Fa of Dai Ahom, Ya Sanggasai of Dai Lue people

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Beings in the three realms, deities, humans, and animals, all came to pay homage to the Buddha, but Ya Huanhao refused to kneel. She stood tall among the beings, claiming herself as the supreme existence in the world, not needing to bow to the Buddha.

The Buddha sit high above, surrounded by all the beings. And wearing her Dai attire with a long tube skirt, Ya Huanhao argued with the Buddha about who deserves greater worship. She surprised and garnered criticism from others due to her arrogance towards the Buddha

They question her: “Who are you? Why do you not kneel before the Buddha?”

She smiles contemptuously and replies: “My name is Ya Huanhao, and all beings on earth, including deities, cannot survive without me. I am greater than all beings. I cannot bow down; when I stoop, you will starve”.

The Buddha asks her: “Where are you from?”

She answers: “I am not from afar; I reside right here all the time. From heaven to earth, I am the one who does not seek favor from any deities, but I make indispensable contributions to humans and animals. Reciting Buddhist scriptures like you all do won’t fill stomachs. I worship no gods and no scriptures”

The other gods were not happy when they heard this and made fun of her for trying to compare herself with Buddha. As a result, she left the mortal world and hid in the deepest Dark World.

After Ya Huanhao left, rice grains failed to grow, and all living beings suffered from famine. People came to the Buddha to complain, and the Buddha reluctantly acknowledged Ya Huanhao’s supreme status, deciding to personally go to the Dark World to persuade her back. When Ya Huanhao returned, rice started to grow abundantly again, and both humans and animals were no longer hungry

There is another variation of this story as Bu Huanhao or Grandfather of Rice Souls, where an old lowly peasant challenges the Buddha and such importance is this folktale that even today during Buddhist activities each year in temple, Dai villagers in Dehong would retrieve the scripture Bu Huanhao, and the chant leader (Huolu/Bozhan) would recite it to the public - Everyone should remember, only rices are truly essential for our lives

Moral of the Apum: Rice over Religion anyday