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……大約明天晚間他會來，就是這姓李的，叫李宇超，也皈依我。你看這個人，他為什麼皈依的呢？就要求皈依之後發願發財。他說：「我發財啊，我一定要造一個佛教的醫院。」那麼就皈依了，又叫我給相面，又要叫我給批八字。相面呢，我說：「你啊，就生著一個發財的相，但是你心裏若不好，也不能發財的；你相上生了一個不能發財的相，你若心裏頭好，也會發財，也會好的。所以相是假的，你不要信這個相。」
然後又要叫我給批八字，他說看我那本書上說是，醫卜星象什麼我都懂 -- 醫書也讀過，算卦，相面什麼我都懂，所以又叫我給批八字。問我說，「我寫了一個字，師父給我批了沒有？」
我說你給我寫那張紙，我丟了，不知道哪兒去了。「哦！那我再寫一個。」又寫了一張來；又寫一張來過，我說我現在沒有時間做這個。我太忙了。「那等一等，不要緊。」過一個月，又問我，「師父，您給我字批好了沒有？」
我說：「什麼？批什麼？」
他說：「我那個寫那八字。」
我說：「他們大概給我掃房間，收拾垃圾的燒了。」這他還不明白，又寫了一張，還叫我給批八字；寫了有五、六次，我也不給他批。因為出家人不能做這些個事：也不能給人家相面，也不能給人家批八字，這一些個問題都是跑江湖的人才幹這一套，真正修道的人沒有做這個的。
那麼等到最近說又要到紐約去了，大概他又想問我那批八字的事情。這回我不客氣了，我說：「你皈依我，我現在要教訓你了。你到紐約，那地方有很多出家人，遇到任何的出家人，不准你叫人給你相面，批八字。你要是狗相，怎麼樣也不能變成老虎相；你要是老虎的相，也不會變成狗的相。你相它幹什麼？啊？你批它幹什麼？你要是窮，我就給你批說你會發財，你也不會；你要是會發財，我不說你也一樣發財的。尤其出家人，你對出家人這麼樣子，這就是等於侮辱出家人，對出家人不客氣。你這樣子地是沒有禮貌的。」
他說：「哦！那他們有的人叫出家人給相面，批八字。」
我說：「那是走江湖的；真正修道的人，不說這些個問題。」
那麼這回他不敢開口再叫我給批八字了，不敢了。他說：「那我發願要造佛教醫院，我發了好幾年，也沒有賺多少錢，那這永遠不成功了嘛！」
我說：「你發願就成功，那他發願也成功，那個人也發願也成功，那佛忙得不得了，沒有時間管這麼多閒事的。」我說：「你就拿讀書來講，由小學到中學、到大學，才能得到一個博士的學位，需要多少年？你想發一個財，就這麼我發了兩天半願，或者，我就可以成功了。世間要有這麼容易的事情，那人人都發願了，還輪不到你這兒來了。」
他說：「哦！哦！我今天真是有點明白了。」真是有點明白了！你看看！這發願，也要長遠，不是今天我發了願，明天我就滿願了，不是那樣。
我說：「你要發這個願：今生我要造佛教的醫院；我沒有錢，我等到來生；來生再沒有錢，我等到再來生。無論如何我要修福修慧，我有錢了，我造佛教醫院，我要生生世世都發這個願，那才行的。」「哦！」他說：「那好了，我以後就這麼做。」那麼這真算大約明白少少了。
待續 |
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Take for instance a certain person who took refuge with me. Why did he take refuge? It's because he thought that after he did, he could get rich. After he became a disciple, he vowed that he would get rich, and once he was rich that he would build a Buddhist hospital. He also asked me to interpret his physiognomy and read his fortune. I answered him like this: "If your physiognomy indicates that you should be wealthy, but your mind is not good, then you still will not get rich. If your physiognomy indicates that you will not be a wealthy man, but your mind is good, then you still can get rich. Therefore, physiognomy is false; don't believe in it."
He still wanted me to tell his fortune. He had read in my biography that I understood all the different methods of telling people's fortunes, and so he asked me over and over, "Teacher, did you read my fortune yet?"
I replied, "Oh, I lost that piece of paper you gave me."
"It doesn't matter," he said. "I'll write it for you again."
He rewrote it, and I said, "I don't have time right now. I'm too busy." "Never mind," he said, "Wait until later." Another month passed, and he asked, "Teacher, did you read my fortune yet?"
I replied, "What? Read what?"
"You know," he said, "That information I gave you to read my fortune with."
"Oh, that," I said, "They must have burned that paper when they cleaned my room." He still didn't get the point and rewrote the information for me. He must have rewritten that information five or six times. I never read his fortune for him, because people who have left the home-life cannot do that kind of thing. They cannot read people's physiognomy, they cannot tell people's fortunes. To do such things is to "advertise your medicines" like snake oil salesmen. People who genuinely cultivate the Way do not get involved in that kind of thing.
Eventually that disciple said he was going to New York. He probably was about to ask me about reading his fortune again, but that time I was no longer polite. I said, "You have taken refuge with me, and now I am going to instruct you. When you get to New York, there will be many left-home people there. No matter what left-home people you meet, I forbid you to ask them to read your physiognomy or tell your fortune. If you have the physiognomy of a dog, then no matter what you do you won't be able to change it into the physiognomy of a tiger. If you have the physiognomy of a tiger, you won't be able to change it into the physiognomy of a dog. What do you keep thinking about that for? Why do you want your fortune read? If you are to be poor and I tell you that your fortune is that you can get rich, you still won't get rich. If you are supposed to get rich, then even if I don't tell your fortune, you will still get rich. If you treat left-home people like that, asking them to read your fortune, it's just the same as insulting them. It's not polite to ask a left-home person such a thing. You really don't have any manners."
He protested, "But there are left-home people who read other people's fortunes and tell their physiognomy."
I said, "They are just snake oil salesmen. Anyone who is a genuine cultivator does not do such things."
After that, he didn't dare ask me to tell his fortune again. He said, "I made a vow to build a Buddhist hospital. It's been several years now, and I still haven't made much money. I'll never fulfill my vow at this rate."
I said, "If your vow could be fulfilled just by making it, then anyone's vow could be fulfilled just because he made it, and the Buddhas would be incredibly busy. They don't have time to get involved in so many matters that don't concern them. Just take going to school as an example. From elementary school you go on to high school, and then to college before you can obtain a Ph.D. How many years does it take? You want to get rich and figure that you can make a vow and in two and a half days it will be fulfilled. If things could happen as easily as that in this world, then everyone would have made such vows long ago, and your turn would never come."
He stammered, "Oh! Oh! Today I truly understand a little! Vows must be long-term and must be maintained for a long time. You cannot just make a vow today and fulfill it tomorrow."
To be continued |
