【證嚴法師開示】
時光飛逝, 一去不再, 這就是我們常常要自我警惕生命苦短, 難得能夠找到一條正確的道路, 這條道路既然我們已經找到起點, 方向就不要再偏差了. 佛陀常常開方便門, 說方便法, 很多人對佛陀的道理, 無法深切體會, 但是用短短的故事作為譬喻, 眾生從故事中就可以體會人生.
Time flies and never returns. Time flies and never returns. So, we should constantly remind ourselves that life is short and full of suffering, and since we’ve found the right path and are walking on it, we should never deviate from it. The Buddha often explained life’s truths in an easy-to-understand manner. But because man y people still couldn’t fully understand his teachings, he had told many stories to help people better lean the truths he taught.
甘醋換水“Sweet Vinegar and Plain Water”
有一個偏遠鄉村, 村裡有許多人家, 家境貧困. 其中有一位老婆婆, 她省吃儉用, 只有一個希望, 如果她能夠得到甘醋, 就是甜的醋. 有一天領到工資, 她就想: 我應該去城裡, 買我平時很想要的甜醋. 從早上天未亮之前就起程, 一直到中午, 天氣炎熱, 她已經到城巿裡, 買了一瓶醋就要回家了.
她經過一個村莊, 看到有人在賣菴摩羅果, 這也是她平時所嚮往的, 就拿剩下的一點錢, 就統統買一粒菴摩羅果. 買了之後, 走到樹下就坐著吃, 很甜很好吃, 她吃完之後就繼續走.
邊走邊覺得口渴, 這個時候她看到遠遠有一位女人, 好像在水窪邊洗東西, 她走近, 果然是一個水窪, 但是水很深, 她就對洗東西的女人說: “妳可否用桶子取一些水給我?” 這個女人也很好心, 就取了一些水. 捧著水喝, 覺得怎麼這麼甜, 這麼香, 我聽人家說醋很好, 但是這要回家調味之後, 才能調出很好吃的東西, 這水,的水喝起來這麼甜, 這麼香, 我是不是用醋與她換水, 就對那位女人說. 洗衣服的女人覺得很奇怪, 甜醋不是一般人能吃得到的, 這位老婆婆看起來不是很富有, 難得她有這瓶醋, 為什麼要拿醋換水呢? 但是這位老婆婆就說, 拜託你, 我覺得這水比這瓶醋更讓我歡喜, 洗衣服的人就說: 好啊! 我就跟你換! 老婆婆很歡喜, 拿著水回家.
到了家時, 她對大家說: 我今天到城巿去買醋時, 可是我在路邊, 喝到一處水窪的水比醋還好, 很甜, 來, 我大家分享. 喝起來怎麼有一種很臭很澀? 不可能! 自己再喝看看. 果然, 到底問題是出在哪裡呢? 她想到了, 原來是吃了那粒奄摩羅果, 這個果實很甜又香, 吃下去的味道猶存, 當她很渴的時候, 一點水喝下去, 感覺甜的. 她看看這些水, 原來是不乾淨的, 她感到很懊惱.
Once upon a time, in a faraway place, there was a village where many people lived in poverty. In the village, there was a granny who was very frugal and all she’d hoped was to buy a bottle of sweet vinegar.
One day, she received he wages. She thought: “I can now go to town to buy sweet vinegar”. So, the next day, she left before dawn. As she walked, it got hotter and hotter. By noon, she had arrived in town. She bought the vinegar and was very happy.
On her way home, she passed a village and saw someone selling amalaka fruits, which she liked very much as well. So, she took out all the money she had left and bought an amalaka fruit. Then, she sat under a tree to enjoy the fruit. It was very sweet and tasty. After that, she moved on.
As she walked, she became very thirsty. Then, she saw a woman washing clothes by a pond. As she went close, she saw the pond, but it was very deep. So, she asked the woman: “Could you please fetch some water with your bucket for me?” The woman as very nice, so she did. As the granny drank the water, she found that it tasted very good. She thought: “I’ve heard that vinegar can be very tasty, but it still needs to be prepared first. The water in the pond tastes so good already. Maybe I should exchange the vinegar for the water.” So, she told the woman about it. The woman found it very strange because not everyone could afford sweet vinegar and this granny didn’t look well-off at all. Now that she had the vinegar, why would she want to trade it for water? The granny could see that the woman was puzzled. So, she said again: “I like the water better than the vinegar.” Hearing that, the woman said: “Okay, I’ll change it for you.” The granny was very happy and took the water home.
When she got home, she told everyone: “I went to town to buy vinegar today. But on my way home, I found a pond where the water tasted even better than vinegar. Here, please have some.” Everyone drank it, but it was stinky and tasted awful. The granny drank it and found it hard to swallow. How could that be possible? Then, she remembered the amalaka fruit she had. It tasted very sweet and fragrant, so when she drank the water from the pond, the water also tasted sweet. She looked at the water, and she saw that it was actually dirty. She felt very remorseful.
這個故事就是譬喻, 當你發心想要取得你所需要的道理, 你必須付出行動, 在過程中你得到了, 尚未真正體會之前, 心意如果不堅定, 很容易被旁邊的境界給誘惑, 就像那位老婆婆, 她心裡追求的是甜醋, 明明已買到了, 雖然她還沒有親身體會醋的味道, 但是在半路, 卻被果實那種甜的感覺, 混亂了她再喝這種平常已經有污穢的黑水, 等到她查覺的時候, 甜醋已經失去了.
佛陀用這麼簡單的道理, 用這麼契合眾生根機的事實, 用事來引導, 看能不能人人從佛陀的智慧中, 以事契理, 讓我們去體會, 這是佛陀對我們的教育, 但願我們要常常把握住, 法聽了之後, 在我們的日常生活中, 要好好體會, 不要像那位老婆婆, 她想要追求的, 所求不多, 只是一罐甜醋, 取得了甜醋, 應該要趕快回到家裡, 好好品嚐她所追求的甜醋, 這樣才對啊! 若是在過程中, 又受其他境界誘惑, 就枉費她走了這麼長的路, 付出那麼大的代價. 所以, 我們的目標要正確, 路要精進, 要專心一志, 所以大家要時時多用心.
This story teaches us that once we’re determined to pursue life’s truths, we must set out on the right path. However, if our mind is not firm enough, even though we’ve acquired the truths, before we’re able to practice them, we might still be easily swayed by external conditions.
Take the granny for example. She had wanted to buy sweet vinegar. But when she finally bought it, before she had the chance to taste it, she ate the amalaka fruit, which was so sweet that when she drank the dirty water from the pond, she found it very sweet. By the time she realized her mistake, she had lost the vinegar.
The Buddha shares with us such simple stories that we can easily relate to in order to enlighten us, hoping that we can learn life’s truths from the events we come across in our everyday life. This is how the Buddha guides us. So, we need to take in his teachings mindfully. And, when we’ve learned his teachings, we must practice them in our daily living. Look at the granny in the story. All she wanted was a bottle of sweet vinegar. So, after she bought it, she should’ve hurried home to enjoy it. However, she exchanged it for the dirty water. All the effort she’d made to acquire the vinegar had gone to waste. So, once we’ve set the correct goal, we must head toward it with diligence and single –mindedness. Please be mindful always.
(Source: Da Ai TV Television 2014/1/19 - 證嚴法師說故事–Stories Told by Dharma Master Cheng Yen)
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