他心裡的火就像夏天的乾草著了火，全身毛孔都燒了起來。「你騙了我兩次，還想騙第三次啊？」所以在開始競技時，把外來的勇士一把抓起來，往地下一摔就摔死了，背摔斷了。
這個外來的勇士是誰？就是後來的提婆達多。所以在過去生中他們就結了怨，等佛陀在無量劫後成了佛，他的背還是痛，就是往昔造的因。
下一個果報是貧窮。有人就講了，「奇怪了！這殺生跟貧窮有什麼關係啊？」大家喜歡聽故事，還是講個故事比較有趣。為什麼貧窮？
有一次佛陀帶弟子出去遊行，天氣很熱，大家都很口渴。阿難尊者是佛陀的侍者，看見佛很渴，自己也渴，就自告奮勇地說，「前面有一口井，我去取水來給大家喝。」佛陀就說，「你去試試看吧。」這話是有伏筆的，佛陀不好明說，只好叫他去試試看。
阿難尊者也沒聽懂，心想討一砵水有什麼困難的，就帶著砵過去討水。不想那人看了他一眼，就罵了，「你憑什麼要我拿水給你？你有什麼功德？我在這兒累得要死，你還來跟我……」，一直罵下去。阿難說好好好，不跟你要水了，就走了。心想，「我也有三十二相好，比佛陀年輕，堂堂一表人才，怎麼一砵水都要不到？」
回去見到佛陀，不講捱罵只講那位居士很忙，沒時間拿水給他。事實上那居士也是很忙，阿難沒打妄語，但是捱罵的事他就沒好意思說。佛陀就對大迦葉尊者說了，「你去拿水，給大家解解渴吧！」
大迦葉尊者走到井邊，那居士看到了趕忙把水舀好，跪著把水交給尊者。阿難這時就想了，「這個迦葉尊者這麼老了，講話都口齒不清，相貌這麼醜，怎麼拿得到水呢？我這麼文質彬彬一表人才，怎麼一滴水都拿不到？」就問佛陀。
佛陀就說了，在過去生你跟迦葉互為兄弟。一天出去玩，看見一隻死貓，周圍蒼蠅飛來飛去。這時阿難--當時的弟弟--就說，「好臭！這死貓！不要管牠，我們別處去玩吧！」當時的哥哥比較慈悲，覺得這貓死在這裡也不好，就幫牠念佛號，可能也念了往生咒，之後就把牠埋了。那哥哥就是迦葉尊者，死貓就是那居士，當時還沒死多久，魂識還執著在身體上，記得誰對牠好，誰對他不好。你看！眾生對自己的身體執著就這麼重！所以今生再相遇，他就覺得阿難尊者很討厭，因為以前罵牠死貓臭貓，也就罵回他一頓；那迦葉尊者，當時貓雖沒看見他，神識裡是知道的，所以就對他感到很親切。因為往昔種的善因緣，所以就很恭敬地供養水給迦葉尊者。
水，就是財物，我們到任何地方都需要的。「天下沒有白吃的午餐。」這餐費，大迦葉尊者往昔已經付了。 我們如果不殺生，離殺生的善報是於諸眾生，普施無畏。布施不一定要布施實際的東西，我們布施無畏，讓眾生不害怕得到心安。一砵水也算是財物，那阿難尊者連一砵水也得不到，是不是很貧窮啊？如果我們像迦葉尊者那麼慈悲不殺生，那我們到什麼地方去都會受到歡迎，到哪都會得到充裕的財物。
待續 |
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The fire in his nature resembled that of dry grass catching fire in the autumn. All the pores in his whole body started to heat up. "You have lied to me twice, and now you want to do it a third time." Therefore before the start of the battle, he grabbed the foreign knight, threw him down and as a result killed him, having broken his back.
Who was the foreign monk? He was to become Devadatta in a later life. Therefore, from limitless lives past they have been at odds with each other. After the Buddha became a Buddha limitless lives later, his back still hurt; this was a result of causes planted in the distant past.
The next retribution of killing is poverty. Perhaps someone may say, "Strange, what does killing have to do with poverty?" Everyone seems to like to hear stories, so I think I will tell another story. Why are people poor?
One time when the Buddha took his disciples out traveling, the weather was quite hot and everyone was very thirsty. The Venerable Ananda was the Buddha's personal attendant. Seeing that the Buddha was very thirsty and he himself was also thirsty, he very enthusiastically volunteered, "There is a well in front, I will go fetch the water for everyone to drink."
The Buddha replied, "You may go and give it a try." Actually, this was an expedient hint. The Buddha didn't want to state the situation clearly; he just told him to go and give it a try.
The Venerable Ananda didn't quite understand the Buddha's intention. He thought that it should not be that much trouble to fetch a bowl of water; so with bowl in hand, he went to ask someone for water. The person he met took one look at him and started to scold him, "What right do you have that you want me to fetch water for you? What merit and virtue do you possess? I am tired to death, you still want me to fetch water for you?" This person kept on scolding him.
Ananda replied, "Okay, okay, I won't request water from you," and went away. He thought to himself, "I have the thirty-two hallmarks. I am younger than the Buddha, a dignified and talented individual; why is it that I can't ask for even a bowl of water?"
He went back to see the Buddha. He did not mention that he was scolded; he just said that the layperson was very busy. In actuality, that layperson was extremely busy; Ananda did not lie, but he was too embarrassed to relate that he was scolded. The Buddha then told Mahakashyapa, "Go fetch some water to relieve everyone's thirst!"
When the layperson saw Mahakasyapa at the well, he rushed to prepare the water and knelt down to offer it to the Venerable Mahakasyapa. Ananda thought, "Mahakasyapa is so old, he does not even enunciate clearly when he speaks. His feature are so ugly. How is it that he is able to obtain water? I am so dignified and refined in manner, a talented individual. Why can't I get even a drop of water?" Ananda asked the Buddha this question.
The Buddha then told him that he and Mahakasyapa were brothers in a previous lifetime. One day Ananda went out to play and saw a dead cat with flies buzzing around it. At the time, Ananda, who was the younger brother said, "Ugh, it smells! A dead cat! Let's forget about it and go somewhere else to play!" At the time, the older brother was more compassionate. He felt that it was not good to leave the cat alone there, so he recited the Buddha's name for the cat. He may have recited the Rebirth Mantra and then buried it. That older brother was Mahakasyapa. The dead cat was the layperson. At the time the cat had not been dead long, so the soul was still attached to the body and knew who treated it well and who didn't. You see, living beings have very strong attachments to their bodies. Now in this lifetime, after meeting up again, the layperson really disliked the Venerable Ananda because previously Ananda had disparaged him as a smelly dead cat. As a result, Ananda is now being scolded back. The cat at the time did not see Venerable Mahakasyapa, but his consciousness knew and felt a close affinity with him. Due to such past causes and conditions, the layperson very respectfully offered water to the Venerable Mahakasyapa.
Water is a necessity; we need it wherever we happen to be. "There is no free lunch in this world." The Venerable Mahakasyapa paid the fee for this meal a long time ago.
If we do not kill, then by having the wholesome retribution of never killing, we can universally bestow fearlessness upon living beings. Giving does not necessarily entail the giving of material objects. We can also give fearlessness, so that living beings can be peaceful and unafraid. The Venerable Ananda could not obtain even a bowl of water, which is a material object. Isn't that a case of being poor? If we can be compassionate like the Venerable Mahakasyapa and not take life, then we will be welcomed wherever we go, and we will have sufficient material wealth wherever we happen to be.
To be continued |
