陳文齋居士,出生於越南西貢的佛教家庭,小學時常隨母親到寺廟禮佛;11年級時遷居屠宰場附近,每晚深夜都聽到豬仔被宰殺時悲慘的叫聲,很是可憐,惻隱之心油然而生。
1979年越南易幟之後移居加拿大。閒時喜釣魚、玩紙牌為消遣。86年他的太太參與卡城佛教會(華嚴寺前身)的成立,他負責處理賬目,從此不再釣魚玩牌了。87年上人前來為華嚴寺開光,有幸皈依為弟子,開始素食,並護持道場。
1989年,上人委任陳居士為法界佛教大學董事。一天恆實師讓他來萬佛城開會,當時他剛買了房子,手頭拮據,恐開會耽誤收入,所以遲疑不決。恆實師叫他安心地去開會,不要擔心,他即來赴會。會後在城外商店購物時剩一塊錢,他隨手買了一張樂透彩票。
回家後,果然大堆賬單等著付。正坐困愁城,突然想起這張彩票,於是查詢中獎號碼。令他喜出望外的是所有的號碼都中了,除了特別號碼;特別號碼也只比彩票的號碼大一個數,要不然他就是千萬富翁了。不過果齋居士已心滿意足,這大約四千塊的彩金已足夠幫他度過難關,剩下的他拿去供養三寶了。
當果齋居士再見到上人時,談及彩票之事,上人只笑而不答。
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Tran Van Trai was born in a
Buddhist family in Saigon,
Vietnam. He started going to the temple to bow to the Buddhas with his
mother when he was 11 years old. When he was in eleventh grade, his
family moved to a home near a slaughterhouse. He heard the screaming
and wailing of the pigs at night, and it broke his heart. It awoke in
him empathy and compassion toward all beings.
He moved to Canada in 1979,
after the communists had taken over
Vietnam. He liked to go fishing and play cards in his leisure time. In
1986, his wife joined the Buddhist Association of Calgary (which later
became the Avatamsaka Monastery). In 1987 the Venerable Master came to
Calgary to hold the opening ceremony for Avatamsaka Monastery. At that
time, he took refuge with the Master, became a vegetarian, and
supported the temple.
In 1989, the Venerable Master
appointed Guo Trai as a trustee on the
Advisory Board of Dharma Realm Buddhist University. One day, Dharma
Master Heng Sure told Guo Trai to go to the board meeting at the City
of Ten Thousand Buddhas. He hesitated because he had just bought a
house and had spent all his savings on the down payment, and absence
from work would mean no income. Dharma Master Heng Sure told him not to
worry and to just go to the meeting, so he did. After buying some
things at the corner store outside of the City, he had one dollar left.
On impulse, he bought a lottery ticket.
When he arrived home, the flood
of bills awaited him. In the midst of
his anxiety, he remembered the lottery ticket and called to find out
the winning numbers. Amazingly, all the numbers matched, except the
bonus number, which was a number higher. He would have been a
millionaire if the bonus number had also matched. However, he was happy
with the four thousand dollars he won, which helped him to pay off his
bills and get through the financial hardship. He donated the remaining
money to the temple.
The next time Guo Trai saw the
Venerable Master, he mentioned winning
the lottery ticket. The Venerable Master only smiled and said
nothing .
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