這個「人」呢，有先壞的，後學好；有的先學好，然後又學壞，所以濟公活佛說：「大惡者回頭，大善；大善士若墮落，大惡一般。」濟公說過，世界的大惡人，他若能知道改過自新，這是個大善人；本來是個善人來的，他若作惡，那就是比那個大惡還更惡。為什麼呢？他明知故犯，罪加三等。
現在我們講這個張雅軒。張雅軒是先惡後善，所以他不失為一個大善人。他是清朝末年時候，遼寧海城縣的人，他名字叫張雅軒，字鑑容。海城是一個流氓聚會的地方，所以人都是你虞我詐，你欺我騙，互相在那個環境裡頭，以欺騙的手段為能事。他生在那麼一個地方，所以也學著不務正業了，以賭博為他謀生的本領。
他賭錢，就把那個骰子造上機關，造上消息，他以這樣來控制，能叫骰子願意出什麼就出什麼，所以他逢賭必贏。可是賭錢這個東西，雖然贏了，也有很多麻煩，不是那麼遂心如意的。因為這樣，他覺得一天到晚和人打打鬥鬥的，爭爭吵吵的不太好，於是乎他就改行了。
改行做什麼呢？就做馬販子，販賣著馬，把馬從左邊買了來，到右邊就賣了。他看馬雖然是老了，但是牠很有精神的，很有朝氣的，於是乎他就把馬的牙，再給銼得像年輕馬的牙一樣，這樣子就可以當年輕的馬來賣了。因為他會這一種的手法，於是乎他販賣馬，就賺了很多錢。賺了很多錢，他買了幾間房子，又買了一些個地，在海城那個地方，可以說是一個暴發戶。
這時候，他有一個朋友，得了一種大肚子的病，是一種的臌症，這種病中醫、西醫都治不好，也走不動路，不能走路。在當時正趕上，王善人在東北那兒給人講病。什麼病他給人說一說、講一講，就好了。他以好奇的心，就把他的朋友揹去給王善人講病。他說：「這醫生治不好的病，你如果把這種病給講好了，那我就認為你像神仙了。」他就把他的朋友揹到王善人那個地方去了。揹到那地方，王善人就對他講，叫他回家，說：「你一定是對父母不孝順了，你回去對你父親悔過，真正的生慚愧心，你病就會好了。」這悔過不是那麼敷衍了事，要拿出一個真心來悔過。
本來王恕忱和他父親，就像水火似的，互不相容。他說話，他也不願意聽；他說話，他也不願意聽，就這樣子，父子兩個就像仇人一樣。所以他兒子得這種病，他父親也希望他這個兒子快點死了。
那麼就這樣子，王善人叫他回去向父親認錯、悔過。（他們兩個人根本就不講話的，父子「話不投機半句多」。）於是乎王恕忱就等到晚上，他父親在那兒睡覺了，他就擺上一個小桌子，點上蠟燭，上上香，跪到他父親腳底下那兒悔過、認錯。
待續 |
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There are people who have been evil to begin with and later changed to become good people. There are also people who were good first and then became evil. Thus, the Living Buddha, Ji Gong, said, "If a greatly evil person reverses his course, that is great wholesomeness. If a greatly good person falls, he is no different from a greatly evil person." The Venerable Ji Gong once said that if the greatly evil people of the world were to change and reform, they would become greatly good men. However, if good people do evil deeds, then they are worse than the men with great evil. Why? Because they commit these deeds deliberately and knowingly. Their offenses are three times as serious.
Now let's talk about Zhang Yaxuan. He was evil before he became good. So he could still be considered a greatly good man. He was a native of Hai Cheng County of Liaoning Province and was born at the end of Qin Dynasty. His other name was Jianrong. Hai Cheng is a place where scoundrels gather. So people there deceive and cheat each other, and they compete with each other in their skills of deception. Since he was born in such a place, naturally he did not learn to attend to proper work and took up professional gambling.
He put some devices in the dices to control them. With his invention he could throw any kind of dices he wanted. Therefore, he was a constant winner. However, gambling is an activity associated with many troubles. Though he won money, his life was not as he liked. He did not think it good to engage in fights and quarrels with people all day long. So he changed his profession.
What did he change to? He became a horse dealer. He sold horses. He bought horses from one end and sold them at the other end. When he found an older horse that looked pretty vital, he would chisel the horse's teeth so that they looked like a young horse's. That way, he could sell the horse as a young one. Since he had this skill, he also made a lot of money selling horses. He bought a few houses and also some pieces of land. He was a man of sudden wealth in Hai Cheng.
During this time, his friend got an illness which caused him to have a swollen abdomen. Neither western doctors nor Chinese herb doctors could help him. He could not even walk. That was the time when Good Man Wang was in Manchuria giving people spiritual instructional talks to cure their illnesses. He just talked to the patients. People with whatever kind of illness got well after listening to him talk. With such curiosity, he carried his friend on his back to see Good Man Wang. He said, "If you could cure this illness against which even doctors are helpless, with your talks, I would regard you as divine." So when he got to Good Man Wang's, with his friend on his back, Good Man Wang told his friend to go home. He said, "You must have been unfilial to your parents. You go home and repent to your father. Give rise to a true mind of repentance, then your illness will be cured."
Repentance is not something to be done perfunctorily. One must bring forth a true mind to repent.
Originally, this Wang Shushen and his father were like water and fire. They could not bear each other's presence, nor listen to each other. They were like foes. So when the son got this illness, the father was also wishing him a speedy death.
Under such circumstances, Good Man Wang bid him go home and recognize his own faults, and repent to his father. (The two never talked to each other. It's said, "To converse even half a sentence with someone whom one does not see eye to eye is a sheer waste of time.") Therefore, this Wang Shushen waited until it was late in the evening and his father went to sleep. He set up a small table with candles and an incense burner. He lit the candle, burned the incense, knelt down at his father's feet, and started repenting and admitting his own faults.
To be continued |
