牧童

The Shepherd Boy

每天清晨，草尖上已挂着厚重的白霜，呵气成冰的季节已悄然向我们走来。青草已逐渐失去了水分，显得干燥而枯黄。走出房门，迎面碰见一个十五六岁的牧童，他手拿念珠，衣着陈旧，赤裸着双脚，与二十多年前的我如出一辙。

In the morning these days, the tips of grass blades are laden with thick frost. The freezing season when our breath becomes visible like a fog has arrived quietly. As grass starts to lose moisture, the lawns become brittle brown and parched. When I was about to leave the house, I came across a shepherd boy of about 15 or 16 years old clad in worn-out clothes; he was walking barefoot and holding a mala in one hand. This image is strikingly similar to that of mine some 20 years ago.

虽然墙上的日历早已跨入了21世纪，在这个偏僻的角落，仿佛时间的脚步已经停滞了一般，如今的牧童仍然没有属于他们的鞋子。

Although the calendar on the wall indicates the world is now in the 21st century, yet the march of time seems to have stalled in this remote highland region, as the shepherd boy today still does not own a pair of shoes.

我感受过走在秋天干草上双脚针刺一般的感觉，每当这个时候，我多么盼望能拥有一双鞋啊！记得有一次，父亲终于给我买了一双新胶鞋，但因为我福报不够的原因，鞋的尺码太小，穿在里面，双脚受刑一般难受。但为了不失去梦寐以求的新鞋子，我只有强忍着疼痛，只有到了无人的地方，才能脱下鞋子，抚慰一下我那委屈的脚。

I knew exactly the painful stings one feels when walking barefoot on brittle autumn grasses. At that time, how I wished I could own a pair of shoes! I remember once my father finally got me a pair of new rubber shoes. However, perhaps due to my lack of merit, the shoes were too small, and wearing them was an awful torture for my feet. But for fear of losing the new shoes that I had yearned for so long, I bore the agonizing pain and only dared to take them off when no one was around, to relieve briefly my poor sore feet.

虽然那时的我们不能拥有物质上的财富，但却拥有精神上最珍贵的东西——爱心。每当看到小蚂蚁被水淹没，每当看到蚯蚓被烈日暴晒，每当看到鱼池的水即将干枯，我们都会如同身受般解救它们于危难之中。

We were so poor during those years in terms of worldly wealth, yet we were rich in having the most valuable thing spiritually—loving-kindness. When seeing the sufferings of other creatures—little ants on the brink of being drowned, earthworms exposed to the scorching sun, fish in a pond running dry of water—we would feel the same pain as they did and try to relieve them of their dangers.

能拥有这样的童年，难道不是比那些尾随穿金戴银的父母，身穿名牌服装，坐着高档轿车，居于豪华洋房，口啖生猛海鲜，天然的慈悲怜悯之心，已经因为父辈的扼杀而泯灭的儿童幸运千万倍吗？

Isn’t it extremely lucky to have such a childhood? Other children may well be sheltered by their parents adorned in gold and silver; they may wear name-brand outfits and be chauffeured in deluxe cars; they live in fancy houses and feast on live seafood dishes. But their innate compassion and loving-kindness are smothered by what they have learned from their parents. Now, compared with them, am I not luckier a thousand times over and beyond?

看到眼前这位手拿念珠的牧童，他一定也如同我童年时期的伙伴一样，拥有一颗金子般的爱心。我把他叫到屋里，给了他许多水果和糖果，虽然没有合适的鞋子可以给他，但他眼中流露出的兴奋已是难以言表的了。他高兴地向我告退，向着已经走远的牦牛飞奔而去。

Seeing this shepherd boy with mala in hand, I have no doubt that his heart must be bejeweled with kindness just like my boyhood friends. I invited him to come inside my place and offered him candies and fruits. Although I did not have a suitable pair of shoes for him, I could see he was already quite happy from the look of his eyes. He bid goodbye to me happily, while running fast to catch his yak that was already quite a distance away.

壬午年六月十七日 　
2002年7月26日 　

17th of June, Year of RenWu
July 26, 2002