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Bodhi Garden

舊說新語 和平篇
MODERN INTERPRETATIONS OF ANCIENT EXPRESSIONS
The Chapter on Peace and Harmony

孫秀美 文 By Sun Syou-mei

二人三腳
和和與平平是從小到大的好朋友,可是現在兩個不和平了,已有一整個星期不說話。平平怪和和是個「小氣鬼」,和和則說平平是個「冒失鬼」,兩人怎麼也不願意和好。兩位媽媽便商量,無論如何要讓這兩個孩子脫離「鬼籍」,重返「人道」裡做好朋友。

正好小學開運動會,兩位媽媽便各自向自己的兒子說:「這個週末媽媽有事,你代表去看妹妹吧!」小凡凡興奮極了!因為賽跑中有一項「二人三腳」接力,是她最喜歡的。那是每兩人一組,用一條帶子綁住兩個人併在一起的內腳,跑時兩人一定要齊心合力,兩個人三隻腳要配合得很好,否則不但跑不快,還可能跌跤。小安安也好興奮,這項比賽,是她和凡凡的拿手項目,她們一直合作無間,能跑得又快又好。比賽前一天,安安興奮地和哥哥說,她白天在學校的練習中,和凡凡是如何又如何地合作無間。這勾起了平平的回憶;我小時候也都是跟和和搭檔跑二人三腳,那時我們合作得多好啊!可是現在……

比賽場地旁,不可避免的,和和與平平碰了面,兩人很快又各自假裝沒看見,找別的事去做而走開了,可是內心又都覺得很蹩扭。比賽開始了,哇!這一次大家都訓練有素,競爭很激烈。小凡凡和安安開始跑了,糟糕!內腳好像沒配合好,才起跑就差點絆跤了!和和與平平忍不住都一齊叫起來:「凡凡慢一點!安安快一點!」叫著、叫著,和和忽然一掌拍在平平肩上:「哈!你看她們合作得很好了!」平平也興奮地跳起來:「 就像我們以前一樣!」「就像我們以前一樣」像一顆炸彈,在兩人心上各自炸開了!一時兩人都有點混亂,互相看了看,忽然又同時爆出了笑聲,一下子四隻手握在一起了: 「是的,就像我們以前一樣!」

運動會結束了,兩個哥哥走在前頭,從小學的趣事談起,一路笑個不停;兩個妹妹也高興地又唱歌又蹦跳;「當我們同在一起,在一起……」一場友誼的冷戰、熱戰,到此均告結束。這一天兩位媽媽坐在沙灘上聊著天,一面看凡凡、安安分工合作地分頭撿貝殼,撿得又多又快;和和、平平則同心協力在一起堆沙築城,築得又高又堅固。潮水來了又去,卻沖不走友誼的城堡,也帶來了更多的貝殼。吳媽媽嘆了口氣:「二人同心,其利似金。」「誰說不是!」胡媽媽笑著應和:「你看那兩個小氣鬼和冒失鬼,現在又都人模人樣了,不是可愛多了嗎!」「是啊!這世界之所以不可愛,就是因為不和平,各色各樣的『鬼』太多了!人心有鬼,就爾虞我詐地互相防範,最後就無所不用其極了!紛爭又怎能不發生。」凡凡、安安跑過來,聽到片片段段,疑惑地問:「什麼鬼?」兩位媽媽一起笑起來,各自摟住一個:你
們兩個小調皮鬼!」

法界頌
宣化上人作

法界為體有何外
虛空是用無不容
萬物平等離分別
一念未生絕言宗

Two People with Three Legs
Henry and Peter had been good friends since they were little. But the two did not get along well recently and hadn't talked to each other for a week. Peter blamed on Henry for being a miser (Chinese: "petty ghost", and Henry claimed Peter was a bully (Chinese: "rude ghost"). The last thing they wanted to do was to mend their friendship. The two mothers discussed how to make the the boys come back from the ghost realm and become good friends again in the human world.

Since there happened to be an athletic competition at school, and they each said to their sons, "Your Mom can't make it this weekend, so you go to watch your compete sister on my behalf." Fanny was very excited about it, because among the events there was going to be her favorite, the three-legged race. Each contestant's leg was tied to his partner's, so they had to run cooperatively with three legs; otherwise, not only would they not be able to run fast, but they would probably fall. Little Annie was excited because this event was their specialty. She and Fanny worked together so well that they were the fastest pair. The day before the contest, Annie excitedly told her brother Peter how she and Fanny had practiced at school and were able to coordinate perfectly. This made Peter remember, "I used to run the three-legged race with Henry as my partner. What a great pair we were! Yet now..."

Inevitably, Henry and Peter bumped into each other on the playground. Pretending not to see each other, each tried to find something to do, and walked in different directions, feeling very uncomfortable inside. The race was starting! Wow! This time everyone had trained hard, and the competition was keen. There were Fanny and Annie running, uh-oh! Their tied-up legs didn't coordinate well, right at the beginning, and they almost stumbled! Henry and Peter yelled at the same time, "Fanny slow down! Annie go faster!" As they were cheering, Henry suddenly slapped Peter on the back, "Ha! See how cooperative they are now!" Joyfully hopping up and down, Peter cried, "Just like us in the past!"

Just like us in the past!" exploded in their minds like a bomb. Confused for a split second, they looked at each other, then burst out laughing and reached out to hold hands, "Yes, just like us in the past!"
When the competition was over, the two brothers were in the front, talking and laughing about the funny incidents in their elementary school days. The two sisters were merrily skipping and singing, "The more we get together, together..."

The cold and hot war which had hampered their friendship were both settled now. That day the two mothers sat on the beach, chatting and looking at their children. Fanny and Annie were working together, speedily collecting a bunch of shells. Henry and Peter were making a tall, firm sandcastle. The tides of the sea came and went, but the castle of friendship was not worn away; rather, more shells were washed up. Mrs. Wu sighed and said, "If two people are of like mind, the benefits are like gold." "Don't I agree!" Mrs. Hu replied with smile, "Look at the miser and the bully, they are certainly much more human now! Aren't they lovely!" "Yes indeed! The world becomes unlovely when peace can't be found, and all kinds of 'ghosts' abound. Because there are ghosts in their hearts, people are mutually defensive and deceptive to the point they stop at nothing! No wonder there is fighting!" Catching part of the conversation, Fanny and Annie ran over and asked, "What ghosts?" The two mothers laughed, hugged their daughters and said, "You two naughty girls!"

Dharma Realm Verse
by Venerable Master Hua
With the Dharma Realm as substance, what
could be outside?
With empty space as function nothing is
excluded.
The myriad things are level and equal -‑
apart from discriminations.
When not a single thought is produced, that
puts an end to words and doctrines.

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