[无量香光 · 显密文库 · 手机站]
fowap.goodweb.net.cn
{返回首页}


The Young Monk Who Saved The Ants
 
{返回 A Collection of Buddhist Stories 文集}
{返回网页版}
点击:1830

The Young Monk Who Saved The Ants

Once upon a time in the deep mountains forest there lived an old monk and a young monk. The old monk was a great practitioner of Buddha-dharma and was frequently in deep meditation. Normally when he started meditation, it could last for half a day or one full day. In addition, during his meditation he would know what was going to happen in the future.

One day, the old monk meditated again. Suddenly he found out that his little disciple was going to pass away in eight days. Therefore the old monk called the young monk and said,

"My child, I am going to give you an eight-day holiday so that you can go home to see your mother and father."

"Really? That's very good, thank you Shifu."

In fact, lately I have been feeling quite homesick too."

"However, you must remember to come back here by the eighth day."

"Okay, Shifu, please take care of yourself. I am leaving now."

"Go home now!"

Delightedly the young monk went down the mountains, without realising that in the eyes of the old monk, there was sadness and a sense of reluctance to see him leave. After a long walk, the young monk stopped at the bank of the stream to drink some water as he was getting thirsty. Then he saw there was an ant cave in which countless ants were going into and out of it. He stayed to observe for a while with interest. When he was just about to leave,

"Oh! Why is the water level of the stream is rising? Oh no!! The ants will be drowned!!"

The reason was it had been raining upstream for a few days continuously. Therefore the water level downstream was starting to rise.

He quickly took off his cloth and he put some hard soil in it to made up a protection wall along the cave. Not only did he managed to stop water from covering the cave, but also skilfully diverted the flow of the waterto somewhere else.

Hence he saved the lives of countless ants. Eight days passed quickly. The old monk was strolling in the mountains forest sadly. Suddenly from a distance, he saw the little monk coming back upto the mountains cheerfully. Happily he asked the young monk to recount what he has done in the pass eight days while he had been away. When he pondered on this story he finally understood that because the young monk had saved the lives of countless ants this has caused his fated eight-day life expectancyto lenghten into a long and happy life.This is the merit of cultivating good deeds, however seemingly insignificant they be.

Extract of The Buddhist Children's Stories, page 5-7, published by TheWhite Cloud Cultural Centre, Taipei Taiwan, Translated and proofread by Forest, Buddhist Calendar 2536 12th Lunar Month the 28th(1993/01/20) 23:45, Sydney.


{返回 A Collection of Buddhist Stories 文集}
{返回网页版}
{返回首页}

上一篇:Castles in the Sand
下一篇:Eight Earthly Winds
 The Monkey King
 The Tamarind Tree
 The Old Man and the Scorpion
 A Chan Masters Tear
 Rainy Day,Sunny Day
 The Traders of Seriva
 The massacre of the Sakya clansmen..
 Yajnadatta, the Mad Man
 Carrying and Leaving
 The Power of Keeping the Precepts..
全文 标题
 
【佛教文章随机阅读】
 行菩萨道的行者是不是不证果定?[栏目:玛欣德尊者答疑]
 烦恼是甚么?烦恼从哪里来?[栏目:陈沛然博士]
 勿以恶小而为之[栏目:法门寺佛学院·学僧园地]
 中台禅寺八十四年度春节僧众精进禅七 84.2.10─84.2.16[栏目:惟觉法语]


{返回首页}

△TOP

- 手机版 -
[无量香光·显密文库·佛教文集]
教育、非赢利、公益性的佛教文化传播
白玛若拙佛教文化传播工作室制作
www.goodweb.net.cn Copyrights reserved
(2003-2015)
站长信箱:yjp990@163.com