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菩提臺

 

Bodhi Stand

古美京•古美惠
南台灣一個「孝」的典範
Gu Mei-Jing Gu Mei-Hwei
Exemplars of Filialty from southern Taiwan

恆通法師整理 Compiled by Heng Tung

一、孝道與佛道

孝是萬善的起點,眾生在六道中打轉,生生世世互為父母兄弟姐妹,所以佛陀教導人要修行。中國古有二十四孝,今台灣亦出一孝,可說是世界之福。母女三人雖識字不多,沒有高學歷,卻有高的道德,母親守節,不事二夫;兩女行孝,終身事母。節孝的故事在今日扭曲變怪的世界上,正像石礦中的金砂,是稀有中的稀有。

二、出嫁與出家

兩姐妹表示,從小隨母住在山中,很少沾染世俗習氣;建福慧堂後又多有家庭不和合,婚姻不幸福的人前來哭訴,姐妹兩人見聞多後,更不想結婚。姐姐美京在十七、八歲時,為人做長工,很多人來作媒;其父亦自日本來信欲介紹富家子弟。但她一想當年嫁給美濃首富人家的母親,整整苦了一輩子,嫁給有錢人又如何呢?當她誠實地將這話告訴父親時,父親也莫可奈何。美京又想父親很早就丟下她們三人,如果自己結婚去了,又是早早丟下母親,她心裡非常不忍,便決定終身奉養母親。

妹妹美惠十歲才上小學,十六歲小學畢業後,父親本想帶她到日本讀書,但母親深怕美惠不被日本的後母所接納,而且認為台灣還有很多學校可就讀,所以不同意。最後她父親只好寄錢來,折合新台幣三萬元,做女兒的教育費用。有了這筆錢,美惠才能遠上台中的寶覺寺念佛學院。

父親曾請她們的伯父作主,將兩姐妹許配給好人家,但美京、美惠自感家庭貧窮,自小備受欺辱,不敢嫁給門戶不對的「好」人家,更捨不得留下母親一人過活。所以兩姐妹就這樣陪著母親直到現在。因為機緣成熟,美惠美京決定出家過正式的僧團生活,長久隨侍已受剃度,成為上人出家弟子的母親恆承法師。從這麼長一段千辛萬苦的人生路上走來,往下的就是一個圓滿菩提的新開始了。

編註:美京與美惠二人得償宿願,已於1992年9月6日在萬佛聖城落髮,並得法號恆藏與恆慧。


A. Filial Path and Buddha Path

Filiality is the starting point of all good deeds. Living beings are revolving in the six paths and have been parents, brothers and sisters in life after life. Therefore, the Buddha taught people to cultivate.

In ancient China, there were the twenty four paragons of filial piety. Now, Southern Taiwan has produced another model of filial piety, which is a blessing for the world.

The mother and two daughters, though virtually illiterate, with little formal education are lofty in virtue. The mother, Gu Bin-mei,(now known as Dharma Master Heng Cheng) in faithfulness to her ex-husband, and never married a second man.

The daughters, Mei-jing and Mei-hwei in filiality to their mother, have remained single throughout their lives. In today's strange and perverted world, they are as rare as the gold sand in a rock mine - just too rare.

B. Getting Married and Leaving the Home–life

The two sisters, Mei-jing and Mei-hwei, having lived in the mountains with their mother since childhood, have been defiled by few of the vulgar habits of the world. Since the construction of Blessings and Wisdom Temple, many suffering from family conflict and marital distress have gone there and in tears.

After listening to all these misfortunes, the sisters wished even less to get married. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, the elder sister, Mei-jing worked as a maid. Many people wanted to match make marriage for her. Her father also wrote letters form Japan, wanting to introduce her to a gentleman of a well-off family. However, she thought about her mother, who had been married to the richest family in Mei Nung and had to suffer her whole life for it. So what's the point of marrying a rich man? She honestly told her father how she thought about it, making him speechless.

Furthermore, Mei-jing thought, her father had left the three of them so soon, if she herself should get married, she would also leave her mother behind very soon. That was something she definitely could not bear to do. Therefore she resolved to serve and support her mother all her life.

The younger sister Mei-hwei was ten before she went to elementary school. After graduating from secondary school at 16, her father considered taking her to Japan to study. However, her mother feared that her Japanese step mother might not accept her, and that there were many schools in Taiwan where she could study. In the end, her father sent money equivalent approximately NT$30,000 for her educational expenses. With this money, Mei-hwei was able to go afar to study at Bau Jywe Buddhist Academy in Taichung.

The father had requested his brother to choose right and dignified men for the two daughters. However, Mei-jin and Mei-hwei felt that coming from a poor family, and having been humiliated frequently since youth, they were not qualified to marry into a "well-off" family. Moreover, they did not want to leave their mother all alone.

Thus two sisters have stayed with their mother up to now. Wishing to join sangha and live with left home people, Mei-jin and Mei-hwei have decided to follow their mother, Dharma Master Heng Cheng who had already shaved her head and become the lefthome disciple of the Ven. Master. Having walked the path of toil and suffering- in life, Mei-jin and Mei-hwei now make a new beginning on the path of perfect Bodhi.

Both Mei-jin and Mei-hwei fulfilled their wish and shaved their heads on September 6, 1992 at City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, being named Dharma Master Heng Jang and Heng Hwei.

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