富商邀行　得闻法音

A wealthy jeweler invited a monk to ride with him and got a chance to hear the Dharma.

从前，在古印度有一位富有的珠宝商，名叫潘杜。有一次，他坐着马车赶路去波罗奈做生意。

Once in ancient India a wealthy jeweler was hurrying in his carriage a long the highway to Varanasi.  Pandu was his name.

这一天午后，刚下了一阵雷雨，天气变得很凉爽，潘杜不禁暗自庆幸遇着了宜人的天气，并盘算着明天在波罗奈市场的珠宝交易中，可以赚到的财富。

There had been a thunderstorm to cool the afternoon, and Pandu was congratulating himself on the excellent weather and on the money he would make the next day from dealing in jewels.

正当他自鸣得意时，他留意到一位比丘从前面的路边缓缓地走来；这位比丘的步伐稳健，背脊挺直，浑身散发出一股宁静与沉着的气息。潘杜心想：“如果这位比丘也要到波罗奈，我可以请他与我同行。他看起来像是一位圣者，我听说与圣者同行，会带来好运。”他便吩咐奴隶──强壮的摩诃都塔──停下马来。

Looking up for a minute, he noticed a Bhikshu walking slowly ahead on the side of the road.  The Bhikshu's steps were firm, his back was straight; there was an air about him of peace and inner strength. Pandu thought to himself, "If that Bhikshu is going to Varanasi, I'll ask him if he'll ride with me.  He looks like a saintly man, and I have heard that the companionship of saintly men always brings people good luck."  He told his burly slave Mahaduta to rein in the horses.

“尊贵的法师！”潘杜打开车门问：“您要到波罗奈吗？能否邀请您同车而行呢？”“我愿意与你同行。”这位比丘回答：“不过你要了解，我无任何世间的财物可付车资，只能以佛法作为回馈。”

"Venerable Dharma Master," said Pandu, opening the door to his carriage,
"May I offer you transportation to Varanasi?"
"I will travel with you," the Bhikshu replied, "if you understand that I cannot pay you, for I have no worldly possessions.  I can only offer the gift of the Dharma."

“我接受您的条件！”这位珠宝商把世上任何一件事都看成是交易，所以他这么回答。然后就腾出一个座位，请这位比丘坐。

"I accept your terms," replied the jeweler, who thought of everything as bargains and deals. He made room for the Bhikshu in his carriage.

这位名叫那拉达的比丘，在旅程中，沿途讲说着因果的定律：“人们的命运是由自己造出来的。善有善报，恶有恶报；不是不报，只是时候未到。”

As they traveled, the Bhikshu─whose name was Narada─spoke of the law of cause and effect.  "People create their own destinies," he said, "out of what they themselves do.  Good deeds naturally bring good fortune, while people who do evil will pay for it sooner or later."

潘杜非常满意有这样一位旅伴。他喜欢听为人处事的道理，因为他是个脚踏实地的人，而且也很有善根，只是自己不晓得罢了！

Pandu was pleased with his companion.  He liked to hear good common sense, for he was a practical man, and he also had deep good roots in the Dharma, though he did not know it.

“一个笨农夫的车子挡在路中央！”奴隶在驾驶座上怒吼着。

"A stupid farmer's cart in the road," the slave growled from the coachman's seat.

比丘和珠宝商打开车门探头一看，原来是一辆载米的马车挡住了公路。这辆马车右边的车轮陷在水沟里，而农夫正坐在旁边，卖力地修理脱落的车轴控制楔子。

The Bhikshu and the jeweler opened the carriage doors and leaned out to look.  There blocking the highway was a horse cart loaded with rice.  Its right wheel was lying useless in the ditch.  The farmer was sitting beside it struggling to repair a broken linchpin.

“我可不能再等了！摩诃都塔！去把他的货车推开！”潘杜喊着。农夫急忙跳起来想要抗议，那拉达法师也转身向潘杜，想要请他另想法子；可是谁都还来不及说半个字，摩诃都塔已经从座位上一跃而下，用力地去推马车，使得车更深陷沟内，其中有好几袋米也滑落到泥土中。这位农夫边叫边跑向摩诃都塔，但当他一发觉对方是位比他壮两倍多的高大奴隶时，立刻吓得不敢再吭一声。摩诃都塔举起拳头，脸上浮现出不怀好意的笑容，很明显地可以看出，只要主人给他时间的话，他会痛痛快快地揍农夫一顿。

"I can't wait! Push his cart off the road, Mahaduta!" Pandu shouted.  The farmer leapt up to protest, and Narada turned to Pandu to ask him to think of some other way, but before either could say a word the burly Mahaduta had jumped down from his seat, heaved at the horse cart, and tilted it into the ditch.  Bags of rice slid off into the mud.  The farmer ran yelling up to Mahaduta, but fell silent when he realized that the tall slave had twice his strength.  Grinning wickedly, Mahaduta raised his fist; it was plain that he would have enjoyed giving the farmer a beating, if he'd thought his master had time for it.

可是，当这个奴隶爬回车座，举起马缰时，比丘却下车，并转身对潘杜说：“我现在要下车了！我欠了你一段搭便车的费用，除了帮助那位被你欺负的不幸农夫外，我还有什么更好的方式来偿还你呢？因为在前一生，这农夫是你的亲戚，所以你们彼此的业，牵扯得比较牢一些；但是你刚才的所作所为，使你日后也要受到同样的伤害，或许我助他一臂之力，可以减轻你欠他的这份债。”

As the slave climbed back onto his seat and took up the reins, the Bhikshu stepped down onto the road.  Turning to Pandu, he said, "I am rested now, and I am in your debt for the hour's ride you have given me.  What better way could I have to repay you than to help this unfortunate farmer whom you have wronged? By harming him, you have made sure that some similar harm will come to you.  Perhaps by helping him I can lessen your debt.  Since this farmer was a relative of yours in a previous life, your karma is tied to his even more strongly."

珠宝商非常惊愕，他一向不习惯被人责骂，即使是慈悲地数落也不曾有过，而这位比丘竟然这样对他！更令他反感的是：他──潘杜──这么个有钱的珠宝商，居然曾经是一个米农的亲戚！“那是不可能的！”他对那拉达法师说。

The jeweler was astonished. He was not accustomed to being scolded, not even kindly, as the Bhikshu had done.  He was even more taken aback by the notion that he, Pandu the rich jeweler, could ever have been related to a rice farmer.  "That's impossible," he said to Narada.

那拉达法师微笑着说：“有时最聪明的人，反而看不透人生最基本的真理。不过我会试着保护你，让你不致于因为刚才的所作所为而受到伤害。”受到这番话的刺激，潘杜便挥手叫奴隶驾车上路。

Narada smiled and said, "Sometimes the smartest people fail to recognize the basic truths about life.  But I will try to protect you against the injury you have done to yourself."  Stung by these words, Pandu raised his hand and signaled for his slave to drive on.

农夫闻法　了悟因果

Hearing the Dharma, the farmer comprehended
the law of cause and effect.

这时农夫狄发拉早已回到路旁坐下，继续修理车轴的控制楔子。那拉达法师向他点头致意后，便开始去把马车拉出深沟。狄发拉跳起来帮忙，这时他猛然发现，这位外型瘦小的比丘，竟然有如此惊人的力气。
　

Devala, the farmer, had already sat down by the side of the road again to work at repairing his linchpin.  Narada nodded to him and began heaving the horse cart out of the ditch.  Devala jumped up to assist, but then he saw that the Bhikshu had far more strength than anyone might have expected from a man with his slight frame.  The cart was upright again even before Devala had crossed the road.

“这位比丘一定是位圣者！”农夫自言自语地说：“冥冥之中，一定有护法善神在帮助他。或许他能告诉我，为什么我今天的运气会这么糟？”

"This Bhikshu must be a sage," the farmer thought silently.  "Invisible Dharma-protecting gods and spirits must be helping him.  Maybe he can tell me why my luck has turned for the worse today."

他们两个人合力把摩诃都塔推落沟里的米袋搬回马车上。当狄发拉再坐下来修理车轴的控制楔子时，他问：“尊贵的法师！您可否告诉我，为什么刚才那位傲慢的富商与我素不相识，却这么不公平地对待我？这世界岂不是没啥意思，没有公理可言了吗？”

The two men reloaded the bags of rice that Mahaduta had dumped into the ditch, and then as Devala sat down with his linchpin again, he asked, "Venerable Dharma Master, can you tell me why I had to suffer such an injustice today from that arrogant rich man whom I have never seen before?  Is there no sense or fairness in this life?"

那拉达法师说：“今天你所遭所遇，并非真的不公平，而是报应；因为在前世，你就曾经这样伤害过这位珠宝商。”

Narada answered, "What you suffered today wasn't really an injustice.  It was an exact repayment for an injury you inflicted upon this jeweler in a previous life."

农夫点点头说：“以前我也听人说过这种道理，只是不晓得该不该相信？”

The farmer nodded. "I have heard people say such things before, but I have never known whether to believe them."

“这并不是复杂到令人难以置信的事！”比丘说：“我们现在做什么事，将来就得到什么果报，善有善报，同样地，恶也有恶报。恶劣的行为将导致恶劣的性格与不幸的人生。你所想、所说和所做的一切，不但会造成你的个性，并且会种下未来的种子；这就叫做因果定律，业力定律。”

"It's not too complicated a thing to believe in," the Bhikshu said. "We become what we do.  By doing good things, a person naturally becomes good, and good things naturally happen to him.  The same is true of evil. Evil acts create bad personalities and unfortunate lives. Everything you have thought, said, and done makes up the kind of person you are now, and also contains the seeds of your future.  This is the law of cause and effect, the law of karma."

原来如此！”狄发拉叫着说：“可是我并不是很坏的人啊！为什么我今天会碰到这样的事！”

"That may be," Devala cried, "but I am not such a bad person, and look what happened to me today!"

“事实并非如此！朋友！”那拉达法师说：“今天如果换成是他挡了你的路，而且你身旁有一位专门欺负弱小的车夫，难道你不会对这珠宝商做出同样的举动吗？”

"Isn't it true, though, friend," Narada asked, "that you might have done the same thing to the jeweler today, if he'd been the one who was blocking the road, and you'd been the one with a bully for a coachman?"

狄发拉听了法师的话后默不作声。他想起在那拉达法师未帮助他之前，心中的确只有报复的念头；正如法师所说的，他恨不得能将珠宝商的马车推倒，让这个有钱人跌在泥泞中挣扎，自己再得意地驾车离去。“没错！法师！”他说：“我的确有这样的念头。”

Devala was silenced by the Bhikshu's words. He realized that, until Narada had come forward to help him, there had been nothing in his mind but thoughts of revenge.  Angrily he had been wishing just what Narada had said: that he could have been the one to overturn the jeweler's cart and then drive on proudly while the rich man struggled in the mud.  "Yes, Dharma Master," he said. "It is true."

两人都不再说什么，直到轮轴又发出正常的声音，轮子也装回了马车。农夫还一直思惟着比丘的话，虽然他没受过教育，但是他是那种对事情会慢慢去追根究底的人。忽然，他说：“这事真可怕！现在珠宝商伤害了我，将来我也会对他做同样的伤害；然后他再来报复我，我又去报复他。真是没完没了！”

The two men said nothing for a while, until the linchpin was sound again and the wheel remounted on the cart. The farmer was pondering the Bhikshu's words. Although Devala lacked schooling, he was a thoughtful man who always tried to figure things out and see the reasons behind events.  Suddenly he said, "But this is a terrible thing!  Now that the jeweler has harmed me, I will do some harm to him.  Then he will repay me in kind, and then I'll come back to get him, and it will never end!"

“不，并不一定像你说的那样！”那拉达法师说：“人可以行善，也可以作恶。如果你能用帮助，而不是伤害的方式，去对待这位骄傲的珠宝商，那么这个因果循环就会破除了！”

"No, it doesn't have to be that way," Narada said. "People have the power to do good as well as evil. Find a way to pay that proud jeweler back with help instead of with harm. Then the cycle will be broken."

狄发拉一边重新安好他的货车，一边疑惑地点点头。他相信比丘所说的，却没办法想像自己是否有机会把法师的建议付诸实践。这怎么可能呢？他只是一个穷农夫，怎么有办法去帮助一位富商？他请那拉达法师坐在身边，就拉起缰绳赶马上路。

Devala nodded doubtfully as he climbed back on his cart. He believed what the Bhikshu had told him, but he didn't see how he would ever have an opportunity to carry out his advice. How could he, a poor farmer, find a way to help out a rich businessman?  He invited Narada to sit next to him, and took up the reins.

但是他的马没跑多远，就突然避到路边停了下来。“有一条蛇在路中间！”农夫嚷着。但是那拉达法师趋前一瞧，发现那不是一条蛇，而是一个钱袋。他下了车，拾起那钱袋，袋子里装的是沉甸甸的金子。

His horse had not drawn them far, however, when it suddenly shied aside and came to a halt.  "A snake on the road!" the farmer cried.  But Narada, looking more closely, saw that it was no snake, but a purse.  He stepped down from the cart and picked the purse up.  It was heavy with gold.

“我认得这个，它是珠宝商潘杜的袋子。”他说：“他在马车上时，把钱袋放在腿上；可能是在打开车门看你时，掉下来的。我不是说过，他的命运和你息息相关吗？”

"I recognize this; it belongs to Pandu, the jeweler," he said.  "He had it in his lap in the carriage.  It must have dropped out when he opened the door to look at you. Didn't I tell him that his destiny was tied to yours?"

他把钱袋交给狄发拉：“你可以藉此机会去化解你和这位珠宝商之间，由愤怒与报复所交缠的恶缘了！当我们抵达波罗奈后，你去他住的旅店，把钱还给他；这时他会为自己的无礼而向你道歉。不过你要对他说，你不但不介意，还祝他成功。我告诉你吧！其实你们俩是息息相关的，所以你现在怎么做，就会决定以后你们是一起堕落，或是一起超越了！”

He handed the purse to Devala.  "Here is your chance to cut the bonds of anger and revenge that tie you to the jeweler.  When we reach Varanasi, go to the inn where he is staying and give him his money back.  He will apologize for his rudeness to you, but tell him that you hold no grudge and that you wish him success.  For, let me tell you, you two are much alike, and you will fall or prosper together, depending on how you act."

屈打成招　奴隶愤去

Cruelly beaten without cause,
the slave departs in anger.

狄发拉照着比丘的教导去做。他并不贪图那些钱，只希望能消除与珠宝商之间的业债。当车子抵达波罗奈，已是傍晚时分，他便到那家有钱人住的旅店，要求见潘杜。

Devala did as the Bhikshu had instructed him.  He had no desire to keep the money.  He only wished to be rid of his karmic debt to the jeweler.  At nightfall, when they reached Varanasi, he went to the inn where rich men stayed and asked to see Pandu.

“我该说是谁要找他呢？”旅店老板用瞧不起的眼光望着狄发拉一身乡下人的装扮。

"Who shall I say wants him?" said the innkeeper, looking scornfully at the farmer's country clothes.

“请转告他，是一位朋友来看他。”狄发拉说。

"Tell him a friend has come," Devala said.

几分钟后，潘杜来到狄发拉等候着的大厅。当潘杜看见那个农夫站在那里，要把钱袋送还给他时，虽然觉得松了一口气，却也惊讶、羞愧地说不出话来。呆立了一会儿后，他突然向邻房边跑边大叫着：“住手！住手！别再拷问他了！”

In a few minutes, Pandu entered the hall where Devala was waiting.  When Pandu saw the farmer standing there and holding out his purse to him, he was struck speechless with amazement, shame, and relief.  But after staring for a moment, he suddenly ran out of the room again, shouting, "Stop! Stop beating him!"

狄发拉听到隔壁房间传来很凄惨的呻吟声，他还以为有谁严重发高烧了。过了不久，一个高壮的人摇摇晃晃地走进了大厅，在他赤裸裸的背上，印着一条条红红紫紫的鞭痕；这个人竟然是珠宝商的奴隶摩诃都塔，而跟在他身后则是一位一手拿着皮鞭，一手握着棍子的警察。

Devala had heard groans coming from a room nearby─he had thought it was someone dying of a fever. But in a moment a tall, burly man staggered into the hall, his bare back red and black with welts and bruises.  It was none other than Mahaduta, the jeweler's slave.  A police officer followed him, with a whip in one hand and a cane in the other.

当摩诃都塔刚看到狄发拉时，先是很惊讶，接着就用沙哑的声音说：“我那仁慈的好主人以为我偷了他的钱袋，想把我屈打成招。这是我照他的吩咐去欺负你的惩罚。”然后不向他的主人说任何话，就蹒跚地走出去，消失在夜色中。

Seeing Devala, Mahaduta started with surprise, and then said hoarsely, "My kind master thought I'd stolen that purse.  He had me whipped so that I would confess.  This is my punishment for hurting you at his bidding." And he stumbled out into the night, without a word to his master.

潘杜眼睁睁地看着他离去，心想自己应该说些什么。但是他一向太骄傲，无法向一个奴隶认错，尤其是当着这么多外人的面。

Pandu watched him go, thinking that he ought to say something to him.  But he was too proud to apologize to a slave, especially in front of so many other people.

以德报怨　化解误会

The farmer repaid the jeweler's wrongdoings with aid, and the misunderstanding was resolved.

珠宝商迟迟没有和狄发拉打招呼，也没有接下自己的钱袋。当他正要开口时，一个身着高贵丝质服装的胖男子大摇大摆地走进来，高声地说：“哈！潘杜！他们已经告诉我这里所发生的一切。命运之轮转动不已，对不对？十分钟前，我们两人似乎都要完蛋了，而现在又否极泰来，对吧？看在老天的分上，快拿回你的钱袋，并谢谢这位好心人。”

The jeweler still had not greeted Devala, nor taken back his purse.  Just as he was about to speak, a portly man dressed in rich silks bustled into the room, saying loudly, "Ah, Pandu, they told me what was happening. Fortune's wheel turns round and round, does it not?  Ten minutes ago it seemed like we were both ruined men, and now all is well again, hmm? Come on, then, take the purse, for heaven's sake, and thank the good fellow."

潘杜接过钱袋，微微向这位农夫一鞠躬：“我错怪你，而你却以德报怨。我真不知道该如何报答你！”

Pandu took the purse and bowed slightly to the farmer. "I wronged you, and you have helped me in return.  I do not know how to repay you."

“嗳！给他一份奖赏啊！潘杜！不然你还能怎么样？”胖男子低沉地说：“给他一份奖赏啊！”

"Why, give him a reward, Pandu, what else?" the fat man boomed.  "Give him a reward!"

“那拉达法师！”潘杜说：“想必这是他教导你的！他也教过我，只是我并没有听从他的教导。好心人！请收下吧！”他自钱袋中拿出一些金子给狄发拉：“告诉我！你可知道那拉达尊者住在波罗奈的什么地方吗？”

"Narada!" said Pandu. "So he has instructed you! He instructed me, too, but I'm afraid I didn't listen too well... Take this, good man," he gave Devala some gold from his purse, "and tell me, do you know where the Venerable Dharma Master is staying in Varanasi?"

“知道啊！我刚刚和他在西门边的寺庙分手。”狄发拉回答：“事实上，他告诉我，你可能会想见他，所以要我转告你，明天下午可以去找他。”

"Yes, I have just left him at the monastery next to the West Gate," Devala answered.  "In fact, he told me you might want to see him.  He asked me to say that you may call on him tomorrow afternoon."

潘杜又再次鞠个躬，这回他可是真的弯下腰来了。“我这回真的欠你一份人情。现在我们好像是找到了同一位老师，所以我也相信他告诉我的另一些话了。他说过你和我前生是亲戚，而且我们之间的命运息息相关。”

Pandu bowed again, this time deeply and reverently. "Now I am truly indebted to you," he said. "And I also believe something else he told me.  He said you and I were relatives in former lives and that our fates are tied together.  It seems we have even found the same teacher."

善有善报　佳运前来

Good fortune came to the farmer
as a reward for his good deed.

胖先生在一旁已听得很不耐烦了：“是啊！是啊！这番高超的理论是很了不起！”他叫着：“不过，我们还是谈生意吧！”他转向狄发拉：“先让我自我介绍一下！我是银行家摩利卡，是潘杜在这儿的一位朋友。我和国王的总管签了一份合同，负责供应最好的米给国王吃。但是三天前，在此地的竞争对手想破坏我和国王之间的良好交易，就把波罗奈的米全买光了。如果明天我没法子送货去，我就完了！不过幸好现在你在这里！你的米是上等货吗？那个笨摩诃都塔有没有把米摔坏了？米有多少？有没有被人订走了？快说啊！”

The fat man had been listening impatiently.  "Yes, yes, this high-minded talk is all very well," he finally cried. "But let's get down to business!"  He turned to Devala. "Let me introduce myself. I am Mallika, the banker, a friend of the good Pandu here.  I have a contract with the king's steward to deliver the best rice for the king's table, but three days ago my business rival, wishing to destroy my flourishing trade with the king, bought up all the rice in Varanasi.  If I don't deliver tomorrow, I'm ruined.  But now, my friend, you are here, and that's the point!  Is your rice of fine grade?  Was it damaged by that idiot Mahaduta?  How much is there of it?  Is it contracted?  Speak up!"

面对着焦急万分的银行家，狄发拉微笑着说：“我载了一万五千磅的上等米，只有一袋因为摔在泥地上，而有点潮湿了。目前还没有人订购这些米；我正准备明天早上载去市场卖哩！”

Smiling at the banker's eagerness, Devala answered, "I have brought fifteen hundred pounds of first grade rice. Only one bag got a little wet in the mud.  None of it is spoken for, and I was planning to take it to the market in the morning."

“太好了！太好了！你说要去市场卖吗？”摩利卡兴奋地搓着手，叫道：“我用你在市场能卖得的三倍价钱买下！你愿意吗？”“好！我愿意！”狄发拉说。

"Splendid! Splendid! To the market, you say?"  Mallika cried, rubbing his hands.  "I expect you'll take three times the price that you could get at the market, will you?"  "I will," Devala agreed.

“你当然愿意的！”银行家说，一面就叫他的仆人立即把狄发拉马车上的货卸下来。他慷慨地以金子来付帐，他一面数钱给狄发拉，一面对潘杜说：“人在需要帮助时，往往料想不到助力会从哪里来。所以人永远不要失去希望，因为人生实在是奥妙不可思议的，对不对？”他对狄发拉说： “噢！这是你全部的帐款了！仁慈的先生！可不要把它们全赌光了哇！”说完，他笑着走回座用晚餐。

"Of course you will," the banker beamed. Calling for his servants, he had Devala's cart unloaded immediately.  He made his generous payment to the farmer in gold, saying to Pandu, as he counted the coins into Devala's hands, "A man never knows where help will come from when he needs it.  Never lose hope, for life is indeed a wonderful mystery, isn't it?  There you are, my good sir!" he said to Devala.  "Don't gamble it all away!" Chuckling to himself, Mallika then returned to his dinner.

但是狄发拉根本就无意去****。他已决定到那拉达法师所住的寺庙，将他所赚的半数钱供养三宝；剩余的带回家，按着需要，节省地花用。从那天起，狄发拉就愈来愈发达；也由于他的诚实与智慧，村里的人都拥护他，视他为领袖。

Devala had no intention of gambling his money away.  He had already resolved to go to the monastery where the Venerable Narada lived and offer half of his profit to the Triple Jewel.  The rest he took home and spent carefully as he needed it.  From that day on he always prospered.  Because of his honesty and wisdom, the people of his village naturally came to consider him their leader.

众生与我　密密相关

We are closely related to all other living beings.

第二天下午，潘杜来到西门边的寺庙。那拉达法师在客厅接待他，听他说完有关旅馆所发生的经过后，这位比丘说：“你仍然有许多疑惑，所以我不打算对你所问的问题作任何的解释，因为你还无法接受。你的信心还不及米农狄发拉那么深，所以想要成为一位真正的佛弟子，你还有一大段路要去经历。”

The next afternoon, Pandu went to the monastery near the West Gate.  Narada received him in the guest hall. Having heard the jeweler's account of what had happened at the inn, the Bhikshu said, "You still have many doubts, and so I would prefer not to give you all the explanation that you ask for.  You would not accept it.  Your faith is not yet as deep as the farmer Devala's, and you still have to undergo many trials before you become a true disciple of the Buddha."

“尊贵的法师啊！”潘杜谦恭地说：“请您再详细地解说，这样我才好奉行您睿智的劝导。”

"Venerable Dharma Master," said Pandu humbly, "I beg you to give me the explanation you spoke of, so that I will be better able to follow your wise advice."

“很好！”这位比丘说：“那么记住并好好思惟我所说的话，这样或许你日后就会明白了。我曾经告诉过你，每个人的命运都是自己的作为造成的。例如你那个有钱的朋友摩利卡，虽然有许多福报，智慧却不足。他相信所谓的命运之轮不断地神秘运转着；事实上，并没有什么神秘可言。他的富足和称心如意，完全是由他的身语意所造成的，与其他一切外力无关。而他之所以生生世世富有如意，也只不过是因为他生生世世仁慈慷慨。我想他不会像你对摩诃都塔那样地对待一名奴隶。”

"Very well," the Bhikshu said.  "Then remember what I say and contemplate it well.  In the future you may come to understand.  I have told you how each and every one of us makes his own destiny, in accordance with what he does.  Your rich friend Mallika, for example, has many blessings, though he has little wisdom.  He believes that the wheel of fortune, as he calls it, turns round and round mysteriously.  But there is no mystery.  His prosperity and contentment have nothing to do with any force outside of his own actions, words, and thoughts.  In life after life he is wealthy and contented, simply because in life after life he has been kind and generous.  I don't think he would have treated any slave the way you treated your slave Mahaduta."

“的确！”潘杜说：“他试着阻拦我，可是我很生气，就听不进他的话。”

"Indeed," Pandu said. "He did try to restrain me.  But I was angry and did not listen."

“是啊！”那拉达法师点头说：“别以为摩诃都塔无缘无故被你残酷毒打的这份债，你可以不必受报；别妄想这世界是神不知、鬼不觉，以为做事不必承担后果。记住！你的所作所为，不管是善是恶，也不管有多微小，早晚都会等量回报在自己身上。就如同俗话说：

"Yes," Narada said, nodding.  "And don't think that you are free of the debt you owe Mahaduta for having had him so cruelly beaten without cause.  Don't think that you are alone in this world, or that your actions have no consequences.  Remember that sooner or later your every action, whether good or evil, however small it may be, will be returned to you in kind and in the exact amount.  As the saying goes, 

种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆；
善有善报，恶有恶报。

Plant beans, and you harvest beans; 
Plant melons, and you harvest melons. 

你希望别人如何对你，先要如何对人。事实上，你并没有一个单独的自我；你和其他众生的体性是相同的；因此，在每一个思想行为里，你和众生的密不可分，更甚于五脏六腑间的关系。”

Goodness brings about good, while evil is repaid with evil.'  Treat all living creatures as you would wish to be treated yourself. Actually, you have no separate self. You are of the same basic substance as all other living beings; and so, in your every thought and act, you are related to them even more closely than the organs of your body are related to each other.

“如果你心中真相信这一点。”那拉达法师继续说：“你就不会想伤害其他众生；因为你知道他们和你是一体的，所以众生受苦时，你将会感同身受，因此总会尽力帮助他们。让我说个偈颂做为你的引导：

"If you can truly understand this in your heart," Narada continued, "you will have no more desire to harm other beings, because you will know that they are the same as you.  You will feel their sufferings as your own, and so you will always try to help them. Let this verse guide you:

害人终归害自己
助人更得助力多
觅求清净光明道
去此妄想我有我

He who hurts others hurts himself;
He who helps others helps himself even more.
To find the pure Way, the Path of Light,
Let go of the falsehood that you have a self."

潘杜起身向法师三顶礼──这是他有生以来，对任何人都前所未行的举动。然后他说：“法师，我会牢记您的教导。我打算回到我的故乡憍赏弥，建一间寺庙，让所有的乡人，都有机会听闻微妙的佛法。唯愿法师慈悲，帮助我完成这个心愿。”

Pandu rose and bowed down three times to the Dharma Master, something that he had never before done to anyone.  Then he said, "I will not forget your words, Dharma Master.  I will have a monastery established in my hometown, Kaushambi, so that the people there will have the opportunity to hear the wonderful Dharma.  I only hope that the Dharma Master will compassionately help me fulfill my vow."

虽建道场　未真修行

Although Pandu established the monastery,
he did not truly practice the teachings.

几年过去了，珠宝商潘杜愈来愈发达。潘杜皈依那拉达尊者之后，一直带头做供养，并护持着他帮那拉达尊者所建立的道场。只要生意不忙，他就去听潘舍卡比丘讲经；这位比丘是这间寺庙的住持，也是那拉达尊者的老弟子。此外，潘杜总是盼望着老法师的来临，以便能接受师父明智的教诲。不过他从来没有把所听到的教诲加以实践，总认为修行是出家人的职务，而自己俗务缠身，实在是分身乏术。

Years passed, and Pandu the jeweler prospered.  He took refuge with and became a disciple of Narada, and was a leading donor and protector of the monastery at Kaushambi he had helped Narada to found.  Whenever his business allowed, he went to listen to Sutra lectures given by the Bhikshu Panthaka, the abbot of the monastery and a senior disciple of Narada.  Pandu always looked forward to receiving Narada's instructions whenever he visited town, but he never put the teachings he heard into practice.  He told himself that cultivation was the duty of monks and that his own worldly business kept him too busy.

王冠惹祸　因果难逃

The crown brought disaster upon Pandu,
and he had difficulty escaping his retribution.

从他在波罗奈的路上，初识那拉达尊者算起，至今已过六、七年。有一天，潘杜的店里接到一张不寻常的订单。山另一端的邻国国王听说潘杜手工精美，于是向他订作一顶新王冠；这顶王冠必须以纯金打造，四周还要镶上印度各种最昂贵的宝石。印度的国王们，一向有喜欢珍奇宝石的毛病；而潘杜也一直梦想着自己能成为王室的珠宝供应商。他确信那时自己不但会有名望，也会十分富有。现在机运来临了。

One day, six or seven years after his first meeting with the Venerable Narada on the road to Varanasi, Pandu's workshop received an unusual order.  The king of the neighboring country across the mountains desired a new royal crown.  He had heard of the beauty of Pandu's jewel work.  The crown was to be wrought in gold and set about with the costliest gems to be found in all of India. Indian kings had always had a weakness for precious stones, and Pandu had often dreamed of becoming the supplier of jewelry to a royal house.  Then he would be assured not simply of prosperity, but of great riches.  Now his chance had arrived.

潘杜立即四处采购，他投资了大部分的积蓄，尽可能找到最上等的蓝宝石、红宝石和钻石；并且亲自设计、制作这顶王冠。为了确保运送途中的安全，潘杜召集一批强壮的武装护卫，来抗拒山上的强盗；然后就出发到邻国了。

Pandu immediately sent out orders for the finest sapphires, rubies, and diamonds that could be had.  He invested the greater part of his wealth in them.  He designed and worked the crown himself.  Then, gathering together a strong escort of armed men to ensure his safety against robbers in the mountains, he set out for the neighboring kingdom.

这一路上都平安顺利，可是等到他们抵达山峰的一处隘口时。突然一群强盗带着凶悍地喊叫声，由高处冲下来。虽然潘杜的护卫队比较多人数，但是受到惊吓马匹，加上山壁陡斜的隘口，阻挠了防卫的工作。

All was well until they reached a narrow pass at the mountains' summit.  There, a troop of fiercely yelling brigands descended from the heights.  Pandu's escort was greater in number, but the shying horses and steep sides of the mountain pass hampered the defenders in battle.

没一会儿的功夫，潘杜的队伍已经溃散，全被缴械了。两个满脸胡子、脏兮兮的强盗冲上前去，一脚踢开车门，把潘杜拉出来摔到地上，拿着棍子对他又打又踢。潘杜默默忍受这些攻击，一心只想着那个藏在衣袍内的钱袋，他将它紧紧地抱在怀中；那里面藏着那顶王冠，和他打算巴结王后和公主的珠宝。

In a matter of minutes Pandu's men were disarmed.  Two unshaven and dirty men threw open the door to the jeweler's carriage, pulled him out, flung him to the ground, and began kicking him and beating him with sticks.  Pandu bore the blows, thinking only of the purse that was concealed in his robes, clutching it against his chest.  In it lay the crown and a store of other jewels with which he had planned to tempt the king's daughter and the queen.

强盗头子　索讨债务

The robber chieftain 
demanded payment of the debt.

“等一等，兄弟们！”有个声音在耳边响起。好熟悉的声音！但是潘杜一时想不起是谁。“我说不要打他了！”

"Stop a moment, my boys!" a voice called out, a voice that Pandu had heard before, though at first he could not recall whose it was. "Stop beating him, I said!"

潘杜睁开眼睛一看，站在他面前的人，身穿皮衣，长发上绑着一条红丝巾，竟然是多年前挨过他鞭的奴隶摩诃都塔。潘杜曾听说山里最厉害的强盗头子，是过去憍赏弥的一个奴隶，却料想不到竟是他以前的奴隶。

Pandu opened his eyes.  There, standing over him, dressed in rough leather clothing, his long hair bound in a kerchief of red silk, was Mahaduta, the slave he'd had whipped years before.  Pandu had heard that the greatest of all robber chieftains in the mountains was a former slave from Kaushambi.  But it had never occurred to him that the slave might have been his own.

“看看他右手拿的是什么？”摩诃都塔冷静地命令手下。

"See what he's holding in his right hand," Mahaduta quietly commanded.

一个刚才打潘杜的强盗用膝盖压在他的肚子上，另一个则用力将他胸前的手推开，而且毫不留情地将他手中的钱袋夺走。

One of the men who had been beating him planted his knee on Pandu's stomach, while the other forced Pandu's arm away from his chest. The jeweler's purse was mercilessly pried from his hand.

“我来拿！”摩诃都塔说：“我早就付过账了！”他把它放入夹克内，用一种充满讥讽和痛苦的口吻问潘杜：“主人，对不对啊？”

"I'll take that," Mahaduta said. "I've paid for it already." He took it and put it inside his jacket.  "Have I not, master?" he asked Pandu, his voice full of scorn and bitterness.

“要不要乾脆宰了他啊？”一名强盗问这个强盗头子。

"Shall we finish him, then?" one of the robbers asked the chieftain.

摩诃都塔用睥睨的眼光看着潘杜，他发现潘杜的眼中，并没有足以激怒他的愤怒或惊恐，有的只是悲伤与认命。他不会知道此时的潘杜正在回忆着那拉达尊者的话，那声音清晰无比，犹如昨天才听到一般：“别以为摩诃都塔被你无缘无故残酷毒打的这份债，你可以不必受报，别妄想这世界是神不知、鬼不觉，以为做事不必承担后果。……如果你心中真相信这一点，你就不会想伤害其他众生，因为你知道他们和你是一体的，所以众生受苦时，你将会感同身受。”

Mahaduta looked down at Pandu, but instead of anger or fright, which might have enraged him in turn, he saw only sadness and resignation in his victim's eyes.  He had no way of knowing that Pandu was remembering the Venerable Narada's voice saying, as clearly as if he'd heard it yesterday: "Don't think that you are free of the debt you owe Mahaduta for having him so cruelly beaten without cause.  Don't think that you are all alone in this world and that what you do has no consequences.... If you can truly understand this in your heart, you will have no more desire to harm other beings, because you will know that they are the same as yourself. You will feel their sufferings as your own."

潘杜叹了一口气，突然明白自己从未真正接受师父的教诲，从未真正相信这些教导，无论对自己或对他人，都能同样地受用。如果现在时候未到，就要被残暴地打死，甚至连向家人告别的机会都没有，那全是自己所造的因，全是自己的错。

Pandu sighed. He suddenly realized that he had never really accepted his teacher's instructions.  He had never truly believed that they applied to him as well as to others.  If he was to die now, violently and before his time, with no chance to say farewell to his family, it was all his own doing, it was all his own fault.

以前，他从未设想过摩诃都塔逃走后会遭受些什么事──除了在寒冬的山中所可能遭受的种种苦难外；自己更把陷摩诃都塔推向罪恶的深渊，一条绝望与危险的不归路──这一切的一切，都是他从未替别人设想过的，现在该是还债的时候了。他轻咳了一声，对摩诃都塔说：“不错！你已付过账了！”然后他将目光移开，不再看这个强盗头子，似乎是等待着下一个风暴的来袭。

Not once had he thought about what had happened to his runaway slave Mahaduta.  The man's sufferings in the mountains during the freezing winters, and the desperation and danger of the evil calling that he, Pandu, had pushed Mahaduta into, such considerations had simply never crossed his mind.  Now the time of payment had come.  He coughed and spoke numbly to Mahaduta, "It's true.  You have paid." Then he looked away from the robber chieftain and waited for the next blow.

出乎意料之外，摩诃都塔吩咐手下说：“放了他！在他马车的驾驶座下，有一个夹层，把它撬开，拿出金匣。那东西一定在那儿，我们来平分！今天大伙儿都可以满载而归了！”

To his surprise, Mahaduta told his men: "Let him lie. There is a false bottom in his carriage, underneath the coachman's seat.  Knock it loose and take out the chest of gold pieces that will certainly be there.  We'll divide it equally.  This is a great day for all of you."

这群强盗急忙跳上马车去，可是摩诃都塔本人，对自己的报复行为并未感觉到丝毫快乐。虽然在过去无数个冷冽的清晨里，他都幻想着如何报复；而今愿望实现了，却如同伤害自己的亲人一般，只觉得沉重和懊悔。于是他走向手下，制止他们殴打潘杜的护卫。“只要抢财物就好了！”

The men jumped up eagerly.  But Mahaduta himself felt little joy at his revenge, though he had spent many a cold morning fervently wishing for it.  Now that it had come, he felt heaviness and regret, as if he were hurting a member of his own family.  He went among his men, telling them to stop beating Pandu's escort.  "Spoils only," he said.

他对大家说：“不准杀人！”同时他用在马车座下夹层藏有金匣子的消息，来转移手下的注意力；而金匣子果然就在那儿，如同过去那些年，摩诃都塔本人无数次为主人收藏的老位置。

"No killing." And he distracted them with news of the chest of gold which was, indeed wedged behind the false bottom of the carriage, just where Mahaduta himself had hidden it many times in past years.

强盗头子让潘杜和随行的人自由下山，回到憍赏弥去。当晚，趁他的伙伴们正边数金币边庆祝时，摩诃都塔悄悄地把装有王冠的钱袋藏在山洞的夹缝中。有好长一段时间，他都没有再拿出来或是去瞧它一眼。

The robber chieftain let Pandu and his men go free down the mountain back to Kaushambi.  That evening, when his accomplices were counting the gold and rejoicing, he hid the purse in a crevice in his cave.  He didn't take it out or look at it again for a long time.

安然受报　得真快乐

Paying off his karmic debt peacefully,
he attained genuine happiness.

经过这次的抢案，潘杜再也不是有钱人了。他失去了大部分的资金，而一个珠宝商没有资金，根本做不了什么事。不过对他的损失，他除了怪自己外，并不埋怨任何人。“年轻的时候，我待人非常严苛。”他对家人说：“今天的下场，正是我苛刻傲慢的果报。”他现在虔诚地忏悔，并依佛法来修行；而且只要不用花心思在交谈或经商时，他就诚心诚意地诵持佛号。

After the robbery, Pandu was no longer a rich man.  He had lost much of his capital, and without capital a jeweler can do little.  But he blamed no one for his losses but himself.  "In my younger years I was very hardon people," he told his family.  "What has happened to me now is simply the payment for my harshness and arrogance."  Repenting and cultivating according to the Buddha's teachings now came very naturally to him, and he took to reciting the Buddha's name whenever his mind was not occupied with conversation or business.

他慢慢地体会到：现在在心灵深处的他，比有钱时更为快乐。唯一的遗憾是，他再也没有那么多的能力来供养道场和护持佛法，或是去帮助镇上的穷人──这是他过去从没想过要多多益善的事。

Gradually he realized that, deep down in his heart, he was happier now than he had been when he was rich. His only regret was that he was no longer able to make so many offerings to the monastery, to support the Dharma, or to help the poor of the town─something he had never thought to do much before.

强盗反叛　头目垂死

The robbers rebelled and beat
the chieftain to the point of dying.

又过了几年，有一天，憍赏弥寺庙里的方丈潘舍卡法师，在去朝圣的途中，单独越过山头时，受到摩诃都塔那群强盗的攻击。由于潘舍卡法师身上没钱，摩诃都塔便草草地打他几下后，就放他走了。潘舍卡法师那天就没有再继续往前走。

Again, several years passed by. Then one day Panthaka, abbot of the monastery at Kaushambi, was set upon by Mahaduta's robber band while walking alone on a pilgrimage across the mountains.  Panthaka carried no money, and so Mahaduta beat him briefly and let him go.  Panthaka went no further that day.

第二天早上，他还没有走多远，就听见路旁有许多人争斗的声音，接着是一个人痛苦地嚎叫声。潘舍卡法师急忙赶到现场，希望可以劝阻强盗们不要再殴打别的旅客。然而这次被打的人，竟然是摩诃都塔本人，而非无辜的旅客。他被十几个手下围在中间，犹如一头被一群猎狗逼到角落的狮子；他虽然用那根威风的棍子打了几个强盗，最后还是寡不敌众地倒下，他的手下拿他的棍子痛打他，打得他躺在地上奄奄一息。

The next morning, before he had walked far, he heard the sounds of men fighting just off the road.  One man was roaring in pain.  Panthaka hurried to the scene, hoping to dissuade the robbers from beating yet another traveler.  But instead of an innocent traveler, it was Mahaduta himself who was being attacked.  He stood in the midst of a dozen of his own men like a lion cornered by hounds.  His great stick hit several of the other robbers, but at last he himself fell.  He was beaten with his own stick until he lay as if dead.

潘舍卡法师一直等到所有的强盗都离开了才出来。他发现摩诃都塔还有一口气在；所以他马上走到奔流在附近岩石间的小溪，用钵装满了清凉的水，带回来给这个垂死的人。

Panthaka stayed hidden till the robbers left.  Then he found that Mahaduta had little life left.  Panthaka walked down to the stream that ran among the rocks nearby.  He filled his bowl with fresh water and brought it to the dying man.

摩诃都塔喝了些水，睁开了眼睛，他呻吟地喊道：“那些混帐贼子都到哪儿去了？我带领他们一次又一次地打胜仗，要不是我，他们早就被吊死了！”

Mahaduta drank a little and slowly opened his eyes.  He groaned and cried out, "Where are those rotten thieves that I have led to victory time after time?  They'd have been hanged long ago if it weren't for me!"

法师救命　劝忏罪业

The Dharma Master came to the rescue and advised the chieftain to repent of his offenses.

“冷静点！”潘舍卡法师说：“不要再想你的伙伴，或你们一起走过的罪恶之路了！想想你自己的命运吧！喝下这些水，让我帮你包扎伤口，或许还可以保住你的命。”

"Calm down." Panthaka said. "Don't think of your comrades, or of the evil road you have taken together. Think of your own fate and drink this water, and let me dress your wounds. Perhaps your life can still be saved."

这时摩诃都塔第一次仔细地看着潘舍卡法师：“您是昨天才被我打过的出家人！而现在你却来救我的命。您使我感到好惭愧！”他又喝了些水，就躺在那儿，望了一下身边的情形：“他们都跑了？这群忘恩负义的狗党！我教他们如何攻击和打斗，现在他们竟用同样的方法来袭击我！”

For the first time Mahaduta looked closely at Panthaka. "You are the monk to whom I gave a beating only yesterday!  And now you have come to save my life. You shame me."  He drank some more water and looked around him.  "And the others have run off, the ungrateful hounds!  I was the one who taught them to fight, and now they have turned on me."

“你教他们打斗。”潘舍卡法师说：“所以他们以打斗来回报你；你若教他们慈悲，他们也会以慈悲来回报你。你所收获的，正是自己所栽种的。”

"You taught them to fight," Panthaka said, "and they have repaid you by fighting.  If you had taught them kindness, they would have repaid you with kindness. You have reaped the harvest that you planted yourself."

“您说的一点也不错，我以前就常常担心他们会对我如法炮制──呕！呕！”当潘舍卡法师试着扶起他的肩膀时，他痛得呻吟起来。

"What you say is true. I've often been afraid they would turn on me─ah! ah!" He groaned as Panthaka tried to lift him by the shoulder.

“我想您是救不了我了。如果能够的话，请您告诉我，我要怎样才能免受地狱的痛苦呢？我知道这是我一生恶贯满盈的果报。近来，我常常感觉到死期不远了，而对死后所要遭遇的恐惧感，就像是一块大石头压在胸口上，有时甚至让我透不过气来。”

"I don't think you can save my life. But tell me, if you can, how I can be saved from the pains of the hells, which I know I deserve as payment for my evil life. Lately I have felt that my death cannot be far off, and the dread of what will come after has weighed like a heavy stone on my chest, so that sometimes I've hardly been able to breathe."

“诚心诚意地忏悔你的罪业并改过自新。”潘舍卡法师说：“把贪、瞋从自心中连根拔除，并且让心中充满对众生的慈悲。”

"Sincerely repent of your offenses and reform," Panthaka said. "Root out the greed and hatred from your heart, and fill it instead with thoughts of kindness for all beings."

“天啊！我根本就不懂什么叫慈悲。”摩诃都塔说：“我的一生是一篇坏事做尽，好事全无的故事。法师啊！我会堕落到地狱，永远不得出离，不能走向您所行的正道了！”

"Alas, I know nothing of kindness," Mahaduta said. "My life has been a story of much evil and no good.  I will go to the hells and never escape along the noble Path that you have walked, Dharma Master!"

自私心起　蜘蛛丝断

A thought of selfishness 
broke the spider's thread.

“不要绝望！”潘舍卡法师回答：“也不要低估了忏悔和改过的力量。俗语说：

一念真心忏悔，
消得万劫罪业。

"Don't despair," Panthaka answered, "and don't underestimate the power of repentance and reform. It is said:

A single heartfelt thought of repentance
can wipe away ten thousand eons' worth of evil.

举个例子来说吧！你知道大盗甘德塔吗？他死时未忏悔，就堕入了无间地狱；在经历无数劫痛苦的折磨后，释迦牟尼佛出现于世，并在菩提树下成正觉了。

"For example, do you know of the great robber Kandata, who died unrepentant and fell into the Unintermittent Hells?  After he had been suffering there for several eons, Shakyamuni Buddha appeared in the world and accomplished enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree.

当时佛的眉间放出光来，遍照整个地狱，使地狱的众生获得了新生命和新希望。甘德塔往上一看，看见了佛陀在菩提树下静坐，便喊道：‘世尊！救救我！救救我啊！我因为往昔所造的恶业而在这儿受苦，不得出离。世尊，请带领我走向您走过的正道吧！’

"The rays of light that shone forth from between his brows at that moment penetrated all the way to the hells and inspired the beings there with new life and hope. Looking up, Kandata saw the Buddha seated in meditation beneath the Bodhi tree, and he cried out, 'Save me, save me, World Honored One!  I am suffering here for the evils I have done, and I cannot get out! Help me walk the Path you have walked, World Honored One!'

佛陀向下一看，见甘德塔在那儿。‘一定要靠你自己善业的力量，我才能指引你出离。甘德塔！你在世为人时，曾做过什么好事吗？’

"The Buddha looked down and saw Kandata. 'I will guide you in your escape,' he said to the robber, 'but it must be with the help of your own good karma.  What good did you do, Kandata, when you were in the world of men?'

甘德塔默然无语，因为他一向是个凶暴的人；然而世尊以佛眼观察甘德塔的过去，发现有一次甘德塔在森林里时，曾经避开脚步，以免踩到脚下的蜘蛛；当时他想：‘这只蜘蛛并没有伤害任何人，我为什么要踩死它呢？”

"Kandata remained silent, for he had been a cruel man. But the World Honored One, with his Buddha Eye, contemplated Kandata's past.  He saw that once when Kandata was walking along a forest path, he had stepped aside to avoid crushing a spider beneath his feet, thinking: 'The spider hasn't hurt anyone.  Why should I step on him?'

看到这里，佛陀便派一只蜘蛛吐一条长长的丝，垂到无间地狱去。

"Having seen that, the Buddha sent a spider to spin a thread of gossamer down to the Unintermittent Hells.

蜘蛛说：‘抓住我的丝爬上来吧！’

"'Take hold of my thread,' the spider said, 'and climb up!'

甘德塔急忙抓住蜘蛛丝开始往上爬。

"Kandata eagerly grabbed the gossamer and started to pull himself up.

这条蜘蛛丝很坚固，所以他很快地越爬越高；忽然他发觉蜘蛛丝在抖动，好像是承受了新的重量。

"The gossamer held fast. He climbed quickly, higher and higher.  Suddenly he noticed that the spider's thread was trembling, as if under a new weight.

甘德塔往下一看，看见其他的地狱众生也攀着这条丝，跟在他后边往上爬。这条丝被拉得很长很长，但并没断。

"Kandata glanced down. He saw that other hell-beings had grasped hold of the thread and were climbing up after him. The string stretched out, but did not break.

这时愈来愈多的地狱众生都来抓这条丝，甘德塔不再往上瞻仰佛陀，而是满怀恐惧地向下看着那些跟在他后面的地狱众生。他停了下来，心想：‘这条蜘蛛丝怎能承载所有的人呢？’

"More and more hell-beings were taking hold of the wispy thread.  Kandata no longer looked up at the Buddha; instead, he fearfully watched the hell-beings following him below.

于是便对下边大叫着：‘这条蜘蛛丝是我的！你们全都放手！放手！蜘蛛丝是我的！’

"He stopped climbing.  'How can the gossamer carry everyone?' he thought .'This string is mine!' he shouted downwards.  'Let go, all of you! Let go! It's mine!'

刹那时，蜘蛛丝突然断了，甘德塔和所有众生通通都堕回地狱去了。”

"Immediately the thread broke.  Kandata and all the others fell back into the hells.

真心忏悔　安详而归

After repenting sincerely, 
Mahaduta died in peace.

“甘德塔的忏悔不是真心的！”潘舍卡法师对摩诃都塔说：“他并没有改过。因为只要有那么一念的慈悲心，这条蜘蛛丝的力量就能成为拯救成千上万众生的生命线。但是他的我执和恶习都太重了，加上他又不愿帮助其他人，所以就连世尊都没办法救他了！”

"Kandata's repentance wasn't true," Panthaka said to Mahaduta.  "He did not reform.  The spider's gossamer would have held, for even one generous thought has the strength to be a lifeline that saves thousands.  But Kandata destroyed the gossamer.  He still held onto the illusion of self, and his evil habits were too strong.  He was not willing to help anyone else.  Even the World Honored One couldn't save him."

“让我想一想，来设法找到自己的那条蜘蛛丝。”摩诃都塔叫着：“如果还有什么好事我可以做的，我绝不会再留给自己独享。”

"Let me think and find that thread of gossamer!" cried Mahaduta.  "If there is some good I can do, I won't try to keep it to myself."

两人沉默了一会儿。潘舍卡法师清洗了摩诃都塔的伤口，这个强盗头子的呼吸也和缓多了。最后他说：“我做过一件‘好’事──如果停止不再造更多的恶，可以称之为好事的话。”

The two men were silent for a while.  Panthaka washed Mahaduta's wounds.  The robber chieftain breathed more peacefully.  Finally he said, "There is one 'good' thing that I did once, if you can call stopping from doing more evil good."

“可以的。”潘舍卡法师说。

"You can," said Panthaka.

“好！那是一件我仍持续着的好事。不知道您是否认识潘杜？他是憍赏弥的珠宝富商。”

"Yes, and one good thing I still can do.  Would you, by any chance, know Pandu, the rich jeweler from Kaushambi?"

“我来自憍赏弥，而且和他很熟。”潘舍卡法师说：“不过他已不再富有了！”

"I am from Kaushambi, and I know him well," Panthaka said, "though he's no longer rich."

“是吗？真遗憾！好奇怪！您或许会以为我应该很高兴，因为他就是那个教我用高压手段去压榨人们的人。当我还是个小奴隶时，他送我去跟摔角师学习打斗的技巧，所以我才可以做他的保镖。而且每次我欺凌弱小后，他就奖赏我。他的心坚硬得像铁石一样。有一次，他拷打我，因此我才跑走，来到这座山里。不过有人告诉我说他变了，慈悲仁德的名声远播。这真令人无法置信！法师，这是真的吗？”

"Isn't he? I'm sorry to hear that.  Strange, you'd think I'd be glad, for he was the one who taught me to be high-handed with people and to oppress them.  When I was a young slave, he sent me to learn fighting skills from a wrestler, so that I could be his bodyguard.  Whenever I bullied people, he rewarded me.  His heart was as hard as flint.  He had me whipped once.  It was then that I ran away to the mountains.  But people have told me that he has changed, and that he is known far and wide for his kindness and benevolence!  Such a thing is hard to conceive of.  Is it true, Dharma Master?"

“是真的！”潘舍卡法师说：“真诚忏悔的力量是不可思议的。每一次当我见到一个例子时，它总是再一次地令我惊奇。”

"It's true," Panthaka said. "The power of sincere repentance is indeed inconceivable.  Every time I see it, it amazes me anew."

有好多次，我计划着如何报复那个人。”摩诃都塔继续说着：“我决意要以牙还牙来折磨他。最后他终于落在我的手里了，可是当我看见他躺在路上，紧抓着怀里的珠宝，脸上那种认命等死的神情时，我下不了手！法师！我感觉好像在折磨自己的兄弟一样。”

"I plotted many times how I would have my revenge on that man," Mahaduta continued.  "I intended to torture him, just as he had me tortured.  And he did fall into my hands at last.  But when I saw his face as he lay there on the road, clutching his jewels to his chest, resigned to his death, I couldn't do it, Dharma Master.  I felt as if I would be torturing my own brother."

“所有的人都是兄弟。”潘舍卡法师说：“在过去世，一切男子都曾是你的父亲，一切女人都曾是你的母亲。而且不管是善缘或是恶缘，你和这个人都有着特别密切的关系。”

"All men are brothers," Panthaka said.  "Every man has been your father in some life past, and every woman your mother.  And with this man you have affinities that are especially strong, both for good and for evil."

摩诃都塔点点头：“您说的没错，那天我抢走他的珠宝和金子，可是却放了他和他的保镖们。我把他的金子分给手下，使他们不会注意到我刻意制止那场暴力。不过他的珠宝，仍然被我藏在山洞内。不晓得为什么，我一直不愿意和它分开；不只是因为王冠不好脱手，我总觉得有某些理由，让我必须把它保存好──我一直不明白那是为什么？现在我感到很欣慰！”

Mahaduta nodded. "It must be so. I took his jewels and his gold that day, but I let him and all his bodyguards go. His gold I gave to my men, so they wouldn't mind my calling off the violence.  But his jewels I have with me still, hidden in a crevice in my cave.  For some reason I couldn't part with them.  It wasn't only that a crown like that would be hard to dispose of. I also felt that I had to save them for something.  I didn't know for what.  Now I'm glad I did."

摩诃都塔顿了一下，然后对潘舍卡法师说：“法师！请帮我做这件事。我的山洞就在我们上面半哩路远的小溪边，一棵大杉木的后面──您从这条路，就可以看到那棵杉木宽阔的树顶了。潘杜的王冠和珠宝就在洞口左边的一道直缝里。您必须把手直直地伸进去，然后再向右边弯，您都记得了吗？”

Mahaduta paused a moment, then turned to Panthaka. "Do this for me, Dharma Master. My cave is behind a tall cedar by the stream a half-mile above us.  You can see the broad top of the cedar from the road.  Pandu's crown and his jewels are in the vertical crevice just to the left of the entrance.  You must reach straight in, then up to the right.  Can you remember that?"

“我记住了！”

"I can."

“您不要自己一个人去，叫潘杜带三十个武装人员一起去。我的手下人数减少了，再加上我已不在，他们会失去勇气的，所以潘杜应该可以轻易地应付他们。告诉潘杜我对不起他，希望他能再富裕起来，也希望那些曾经被我掠夺财富与欢乐的人都富裕快乐。如果我还能活着，或者我还有来生，我都发愿要效法尊贵的法师您，去救度那些因自己愚痴的行为，而陷在业网中的人。”

"Don't go there yourself.  Tell Pandu to come with thirty armed men.  My men are fewer now, and without me they will lose heart.  Pandu will overcome them easily. Tell Pandu I'm sorry.  I wish him to have his wealth again.  I wish all men wealth and happiness, all the wealth and happiness that I have taken from them.  If I live, or in my next life, I vow to be like you, Venerable Dharma Master, and be a helper of men caught in the web of sorrow they have created by their own foolish deeds."

摩诃都塔精疲力竭地向后仰，但并非感觉伤口疼痛，而是已走到人生的尽头了。突然一抹欢乐的笑意浮上他的脸庞，他抬起手来指着上方：“看！佛陀躺在他的卧具上，将要入涅槃了！他的弟子，那些大阿罗汉们，都围立在佛陀的身边。啊！他在对我笑！”摩诃都塔的脸上绽放出快乐的光芒。

Exhausted, Mahaduta fell back.  He now felt no pain from his wounds, but his life was ebbing away.  Suddenly a joyous smile swept into his face.  He raised his hand, pointing upward.  "See! The Buddha is there on his couch, about to enter Nirvana. His disciples, the great Arhats, are standing around him.  See! He is smiling at me!"  Mahaduta's face was bright with happiness.

“他降临到世间来，我们众生是多么有福报啊！”

"What a wonderful blessing to us that he came into the world!"

“是的！那是一种福报。”潘舍卡法师说：“佛陀因悲悯众生而出现于世，以便教导我们一件大事：生死问题。他开导我们对人生诸苦的觉醒；他指示我们私欲是众苦的根源；他教导我们追随他，朝正道去修行，才能了苦；他教导我们用戒定慧来息灭贪瞋痴。他经过多生累劫的修行与布施，已经息灭一切私欲了，而以慈悲喜舍做为我们的模范。如果人人都能皈依佛陀，这世界就不会像现在一样地贫穷险恶了。”

"Yes, it was a blessing," Panthaka said.  "He appeared in the world out of compassion for living beings, in order to instruct us in the one great matter: the problem of birth and death.  He taught us to awaken to the suffering of this world, and he taught us that selfish desire is the source of our suffering.  He taught us how to end our suffering by following him on the Proper Path.  He taught us morality, concentration, and wisdom to put our greed, anger, and delusion to rest.  He himself, through lifetimes of cultivation and renunciation, put to rest all his own desires, and with kindness, compassion, joy, and giving he came to give us himself as an example.  If all men and women could take refuge in him, this world would no longer be the poor and dangerous place that it is now."

摩诃都塔点点头，如同口渴的人，得到清凉水般地，吸收这位比丘的法语。他试图再说些什么，却已办不到了。潘舍卡法师了解他的要求，就为他授三皈依，于是他便成为一个三宝弟子。接着潘舍卡法师又为他说菩萨的四弘誓愿：

Mahaduta nodded. He drank in the Bhikshu's words like a thirsty man who is given cool water. He tried to speak, but could not continue. Understanding his request, Panthaka spoke the Three Refuges for him, so that he became a disciple of the Triple Jewel. Panthaka then repeated for him the Four Great Vows of the Bodhisattva:

众生无边誓愿度
烦恼无尽誓愿断
法门无量誓愿学
佛道无上誓愿成

Living beings are boundless; I vow to save them.
Afflictions are endless; I vow to cut them off.
Dharma-doors are countless; I vow to study them.
The Buddhas' Way is unsurpassed; I vow to achieve it.

然后又念了三次普贤菩萨的忏悔偈：

He also repeated three times the repentance verse of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva:

往昔所造诸恶业
皆由无始贪瞋痴
从身语意之所生
一切我今皆忏悔

Of all evil I have done in the past,
Caused by beginningless 
greed, hatred, and stupidity
And produced by body, mouth, and mind
I now repent and reform.

还有这首偈颂：

And this verse:

罪从心起将心忏
心若灭时罪亦亡
心亡罪灭两俱空
是则名为真忏悔

Offenses arise from the mind; 
repentance is done by the mind.
When the mind is extinguished, 
offenses are forgotten.
Offenses extinguished and the mind forgotten─
both empty:
That is called true repentance and reform.

当潘舍卡法师仍在诵念时，摩诃都塔咽下了最后一口气，含笑而逝。

As Panthaka was reciting it, Mahaduta breathed his last. He died with a smile on his face.

强盗忏悔　死亦度生

With true repentance, the robber crossed
others over even after his death.

于是潘舍卡法师将朝圣之旅延后，立刻返回憍赏弥，到潘杜家说明一切。潘杜就召集了一批武装人员，与潘舍卡法师一起回到山中。此时摩诃都塔的手下都已经逃走了；潘杜的钱袋真的是被藏在摩诃都塔所说的地方，而且王冠仍在里面，丝毫无损。

Panthaka postponed his pilgrimage and returned to Kaushambi.  He went immediately to Pandu's house to tell him of what had happened.  Gathering an escort of armed men, Pandu returned to the mountains. Mahaduta's men had already fled.  Pandu's purse was hidden exactly where Mahaduta had said it would be, and the crown was within it, unharmed.

当摩诃都塔的尸体被火化，骨灰被装入坛中后，潘舍卡法师领着大家诵念《佛说阿弥陀经》及〈往生净土咒〉。他简要地说明业力，以及比业力更大的忏悔力量。他从《法句经》中引用了这首偈颂：

Panthaka came with them, and when the body of Mahaduta had been burned and the ashes collected in urns, Panthaka led the assembled company in the recitation of Sutras and mantras.  He spoke briefly of the power of karma and of the even greater power of repentance and reform. He also quoted this verse:

自救真救度　自力胜他力
皈依佛教导　同登正觉道

No one can save us but ourselves.
Our strength is greater than that derived from others.
We ourselves must walk the road to 
Proper Enlightenment
With the Buddha as our Great Teacher and Guide

“我们的老师那拉达尊者，”潘舍卡法师继续开示：“一直强调我们要为自己的行为负责，也要为自己的业报负责。奖惩我们的，不是神或其他的众生，而是我们自己。一切唯心造，世界的好坏，都是我们自己创造的。今天被埋葬在地下的摩诃都塔，由于受邪恶思想的左右，过了罪恶的一生；除了不快乐外，其他一无所知。但最后他却改变了，他真诚忏悔与改过自新的誓愿，感动佛陀示现来庇佑他。他以宽恕的善行，走完了生命之旅，在安乐祥和中过世。我们应该可以以他做为借镜！没有一个人不是罪业凡夫，最后都要受到自己所织成的业网牵引。但只要真心忏悔，我们就能从中得到解脱。”

"Our Elder Master Narada," Panthaka continued, "has always stressed that we alone are responsible for our own actions, and that we are responsible for what happens to us as a result of our actions.  No god or any other being rewards or punishes us.  We reward ourselves; we punish ourselves.  Everything arises from the mind, and so the world is exactly how we create it. This man Mahaduta, whom we have buried today, led an evil life, guided by evil thoughts, and knew nothing but unhappiness.  Yet at the end he changed. His repentance and vows of reform moved the Buddha himself to appear to him and give him his blessing.  His life ended with a deed of forgiveness, and he died as a happy man.  We can all learn from his example, for none of us is blameless.  We are all connected by the web of karma we have created, and we are all capable of the liberation that true repentance brings."

在摩诃都塔的墓碑上，潘舍卡法师写下了强盗头子的一生，以及最后的转变：

Panthaka had the following summary of the robber chieftain's life and conversion inscribed on Mahaduta's headstone:

打劫者摩诃都塔长眠于此，
他活在愤怒之中，
亦为愤怒所击倒。
唯因临终忏悔，
归还掠夺物，立志归向正道，
感应到佛陀含笑印证他的改过，
摩诃般若波罗蜜多！

Here lies Mahaduta, highwayman.
He lived in anger; anger felled him.
At last repenting, he returned his spoils,
Promising to walk the Proper Path.
The Buddha smiled and certified his change.
Maha Prajna Paramita!

墓碑立在山道边，以“忏悔的强盗头子之墓”而闻名。过了几年，旁边又建了一座庙宇，经过此地的旅人与朝圣者都会到这儿拜佛，并祈求旅途平安，也愿所有的恶人都改过向善。

The headstone beside the mountain pass became known as the Repentant Robber's Tomb, and in later years a shrine was built beside it.  There travelers and pilgrims bowed to the Buddha and prayed for a peaceful journey and the conversion of evil men.

慈悲宽大　确保人生

Kindness and generosity assure a happy future.

现在潘杜又富有了，而且比以前更富有。可是他现在对把钱布施出去，比把钱赚进来更热衷；同时，他也把事业都交给儿子们去经营。他尽力教导他们：用尽方法赚来的财富并不能持久，唯有慈悲宽大，才能确保幸福的人生。

Pandu now became wealthy again, wealthier than he had ever been.  Now, however, he was more interested in giving money away then in making it, and he gave over the operation of his business to his sons.  He did his best to teach them that prosperity brought about by hard dealings will not last, and that by being generous and kind they would assure themselves of a happy future.

他在晚年安详地走完了一生，当他意识到死期将至时，就把儿子、女儿和孙儿们都叫到身边，告诉他们：“亲爱的孩子们！将来在你的生活中，如果有任何不如意的事情，切莫责怪他人；即使事情看起来是他人引起的，还是要反省自己，看看自己是不是有什么地方傲慢、自私、贪心或不慈悲。唯有改过自新才是你真正能掌握的。假如你觉得力不从心时，去找你的老师帮助你，并祈求佛菩萨加被。只要你真正改过了，好运与幸福便自然会降临；但不要把它囤积起来，要布施出去，与他人分享。这样福气才不会枯竭。记住我所说的这首偈颂，那是我初识那拉达尊者时，他教导我的：

His end came peacefully in old age.  When he realized that his death was near, he called his sons, daughters, and grandchildren to his bedside and told them: "My dear children, if in the future something should go wrong in your lives, don't blame others, even if they seem to be the cause of your unhappiness.  Look within yourself. See where you have been proud, selfish, greedy, or unkind.  Change that fault in yourself, for this is something that is always within your power.  If change seems beyond you, seek help from your teacher, and pray to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for aid.  Once you have changed your faults, good fortune and happiness will return to you naturally.  When they have returned, do not hoard them, but share them with others. Then they will never be exhausted.  Remember me by this verse, which the Venerable Narada taught me when I first knew him:

害人终归害自己
助人更得助力多
觅求清净光明道
去此妄想我有我

He who hurts others hurts himself.
He who helps others helps himself even more.
To find the pure Way, the Path of Light,
Let go of the falsehood that you have a self.