【證嚴法師開示】
一天一天不斷過去, 我們每天所面對的人事物, 很多都會卡在我們心上. 是或非, 是是非非紛紛擾擾, 假使我們把每天, 所以觸的人我事物, 都當成是非, 即使是清淨的法水, 也會變成污濁的垃圾水.我們如果能把是日一切是非, 當成教育, 才能清淨心地, 能分辨是非, 培養出慈悲喜捨, 唯有做人才有這個機會, 要不然同樣是胎生, 卻是披毛戴角的獸類, 禽頪, 但是在獸類中, 儘管披毛戴角, 也同樣有佛性.
Time passes by day by day. Every day, much of what we experience with people or events, whether good or bad, stays on our minds. If we take everything we come across every day as a cause for conflict or dispute, even when we hear wholesome teachings, we’ll find them unsound and useless. One the contrary, if we can take all disputes as lessons for us to learn from, our minds will be calm and clear and we’ll be able to tell right from wrong and nurture love and compassion within. This is only possible when we are born as humans. Animals cannot do that. That said, even animals possess the Buddha nature.
“The Benevolent Deer King”五色鹿王
山林中有一群鹿, 其中有一隻鹿王全身五彩, 顏色光耀, 牠的角也很奇雅. 有一天, 國王帶著君臣出來打獵, 弓箭四射, 鹿群四散驚惶, 之後人走了, 有的鹿在找牠的孩子, 有的在找媽媽, 有的墜落山崖下, 屍體流血, 鹿王看到很心痛, 很自責, 決定要為鹿群請命.
鹿王走入城內, 走入皇宮, 到國王面前, 四肢屈曲, 淚流滿面說: “我們鹿群寄居在國王的土地, 我們心存感恩, 知道你的廚房中需要佳餚, 希望國王能指定數量, 我們都甘願, 會自己親自來”. 國王聽了他就說, “若是廚房所需要, 可能是每天一隻, 鹿王聽了安心了”.
鹿群聽到鹿王回來了, 趕快聚集過來, 鹿王就說: “世間沒有能夠不死的生命, 為了安居樂業, 我們自動就死, 但是能夠很平靜”. 從此開始, 鹿群輪班, 輪到我就到鹿王面前拜別, 鹿王說: “此時是大限到來時, 你要抱著十分輕安自在的心, 沿路走去心中要唸佛, 不要對人類的國王起瞋怒的心.
有一天, 即將臨盆的母鹿, 跪拜哀求: “等我生下孩子, 我再去好嗎?” 鹿王聽了, 詢問接著輪到的那隻鹿, 你可以提前一天嗎? 那隻鹿趕緊說: “我不希望提早一天去赴死”. 鹿王聽了之後, 自己心裡有了打算, 牠再次到了皇宮, 直接進入廚房, 廚師就問: “為什麼今天會是鹿王親自來赴死?” 因此向國王稟報, 國王問說: “這麼快啊! 你的鹿群都輪完了嗎?” “不是” 牠就將母鹿的請求, 再接著輪到的鹿也要求多活一天, 所以今天牠來填補廚房所需要的. 國王聽了非常懺悔, 覺得這種獸類, 雖然是鹿身鹿頭竟然有著人的仁德. 所以仁德存在天下之間萬物. 我是一個人竟然比鹿還不如, 他懺悔了, 貼出告示: “從今天開始, 禁止到山林打獵”.
Once upon a time in the mountains, there was a herb of deer. Among them was a deer king, whose coat was glassy and colorful. His antlers were also very unique and elegant. One day, a king went hunting with his ministers. As arrows flew everywhere, the deer scattered in terror. After hunting, the king and his ministers left. Many deer were killed. Some fawns lost their mothers. Some deer fell down the cliff. There were deer carcasses everywhere. Seeing that, the deer king was heartbroken. He blamed himself. So, he decided to do something.
He went into the city to see the king in his palace. He prostrated himself before the king. He prostrated himself before the king and said in tears, “We are very grateful for being able to live on your land and we understand you need us to make dishes. We only hope you can tell us how much you need and we’ll send the deer here every day.”
The king replied: “We probably need no more than one deer a day.”
Hearing that, the deer king knew what to do.
When the deer king returned, all the deer gathered to hear his message. He said to them: “Living in this world, no one can escape death. To ensure the continuity o f our herd, we must offer ourselves voluntarily. At least it’d be a peaceful end.” From then on, every day, the deer to be offered to the palace would come forward to bid farewell to the deer king. The deer king would say: “Your time has come. You must face it with peace and ease. On your way to the palace, you must think of the Buddha and harbor no bitterness against the king.”
One day, a doe came and pleaded to the deer king: “I’m having a baby soon. Could I wait until after I give birth?”
So, the deer king asked the next deer in line if he could go a day earlier. The deer quickly refused and said that he wished to live one more day. Hearing that, the deer king made a decision. This time, he went straight to the palace’s kitchen. The chef wondered why the deer king offered himself that day. So, he reported it to the king. The king asked the deer king: “Are you the last one?” The deer king then told the king about the mother deer and how the next deer in line also wished to live for one more day, so he came himself.
Hearing that, the king was very remorseful as he saw how even animals could have such a benevolent heart of people. He realized that the virtue of benevolence could be found in all living beings. He was humbled by the deer king. He deeply regretted what he did and issued an edict to forbid his people from hunting.
這段故事說到這裡, 各位你們知道嗎? 那頭鹿就是佛陀, 那位國王是舍利弗, 佛陀修行, 他不只是生在人道和你我一樣, 受母親懷胎, 十個月之後出生人間, 不只是這樣, 為了度一切眾生, 他不論是在牛腹馬肚或是鹿胎, 他都曾經歷過, 所以我們要懂得尊重生命. 不要自大自滿, 膨脹自己, 欺壓貧賤, 對其他生物, 我們都要好好疼惜.
過去我也說過, 眾生平等願, 眾生都要平等, 甚至我們也要惜緣, 綠就是生生世世互相相扣, 一切都要有因緣觀, 看到新聞流浪狗, 救難隊把這些狗集合起來訓練, 流浪狗變成救難隊, 牠也能救人, 何況我們是人. 人不怕錯, 怕不肯改過, 過去雖然曾經損害他人, 或是被人輕賤遺棄的人, 他也能變成人世間真正有用, 而且是能對人群奉獻的人或東西, 所以各位, 不要太自大, 記得要縮小自己, 尊重他人.
Everyone, the deer king was actually the Buddha, and the king was his disciple, Sariputra. For the sake of spiritual cultivation, the Buddha was not just reborn as a human, like you and me. To help deliver all living beings, he was also reborn into the animal realm as a cow, horse, deer, etc. So, we must respect all life. We should not be arrogant and think that we are superior to other creatures and despise them. We should love and cherish all living beings. I
I have spoken of how we should treat all living beings equally. We must also cherish our affinities with others as karmic affinities connect onwards life after life. We must believe in the law of karma. I saw a news report that even stray dogs can be trained to become rescue dogs. Even dogs can be trained, let alone people. To err is human, but it’s more important to reform. Although some people may have hurt others and thus be looked down or given up on, as long as they reform, they can still be useful members of society and even give of themselves to benefit others. So, everyone, we must not be arrogant. Please always be humble and respect others.
( Source: Da Ai TV Television 2014/1/12 - 證嚴法師說故事–Stories Told by Dharma Master Cheng Yen )
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