A man was sheltering from the rain under an eaves when he saw the Bodhisattva Guanyin walking past with an umbrella. He asked, "Bodhisattva Guanyin, you who save all living beings, could you please help me and take me along?" Guanyin replied, "I am in the rain, but you are under the eaves. There is no rain under the eaves, so you do not need my salvation." The man immediately jumped out from under the eaves into the rain and said, "Now I am also in the rain. Should you not save me now?" Guanyin said, "You are in the rain, and I am in the rain. I am not getting wet because I have an umbrella; you are getting wet because you do not. Therefore, it is not I who saves myself, but the umbrella. If you wish to be saved, do not seek me out; go find your own umbrella." With these words, he left.
The next day, the man encountered a difficult situation and went to the temple to pray to Guanyin. Upon entering the temple, he discovered that someone was worshipping in front of the statue of Guanyin. This person looked exactly like Guanyin, not a bit different. The man asked, "Are you Guanyin?" The person replied, "I am indeed Guanyin." The man asked again, "Then why are you worshipping yourself?" Guanyin smiled and said, "I have also encountered a difficult situation, but I know that relying on others is not as good as relying on oneself."