95.聖人之言 A Wise Mans Words

95.A WISE MAN’S WORDS

　　Bandits had struck again in Fuyang! This time they robbed a dozen people. Then they chopped off their heads and their hands. All the people were frightened by such savagery.

　　There were floods in Xiangyang. Hundreds of houses disappeared under the water overnight. The inhabitants lost everything, and had no place to go. But they were the lucky ones, the ones who were not drowned immediately or carried off in the raging flood waters.

　　As a local official, Li Beide felt he had to do something about the tragedies that struck the people under his jurisdiction. As a kind man, he felt sorry for all those unlucky people. As a Taoist, he wondered what might be the cause behind all these disasters.

　　“If anybody would know, it would be my Teacher, the great sorcerer Lin. “When he got a chance, Li went to the Er-Xian Temple to visit his Teacher. When he got there, the sorcerer was sitting in meditation, exercising his powers.

　　When Li came in, the sorcerer welcomed him. Li asked, “Teacher, I would like to ask the cause behind all the disasters which have befallen our unhappy district of late. Bandits have come like a swarm of angry hornets. They kill and burn. Floods have destroyed the fruits of many years of hard work. Teacher, tell me why.”

　　“I rarely leave this temple,” said the Teacher. “I do not follow current events.”

　　“But why should these people be subjected to these terrible occurrences?” 　　The sorcerer heaved a deep sigh. “You reap as you sow. People are selfish and cruel. They only think about their own stomachs, so they kill animals to eat their meat.

　　“The killed animals are wrathful. When much wrath accumulates, the peace of nature is disturbed, so the heaven break open and waters flood the land. Some of the animals come back in rebirth as human beings, and murder and rob as vengeance for misdeeds done unto them.

　　“There is no escaping the power of nature. People who have done wrong bring misfortune down upon themselves and upon their families. Those who go against nature bring themselves tragedy.”

　　Although this story dates back hundreds of years, it is especially important for us now, at the end of the twentieth century. Florida is struck by hurricanes and tornadoes. California is shaken by earthquakes, parched by drought, and then drenched by storms. Windstorms and snowstorms destroy property and leave thousands homeless across the nation.

　　We should listen to the wisdom of the ancients and see how we fly in the face of nature. Killing, violence, drug abuse, homosexuality, unsettling music, alcoholism, lurid journalism, and promiscuity are modern people’s entertainment. Is it any wonder that nature can barely tolerate us any more?

95.聖人之言

　　強盜又一次襲擊了富陽縣。這一回他們搶掠了數十人。他們砍掉了人們的頭顱和雙手。殘忍的暴行使所有人心中都充滿了恐懼。 　　在襄陽，四處都是洪水。成百間房屋在一夜之間便被洪水吞沒。居民們一無所有，無家可歸。但他們還算是幸運的，因為他們並沒有被洪水淹死或被狂滔沖走。

　　身為地方長官，李備德感到應該為治下的百姓遭受如此的災難而做些什麼。作為一個善良的人，他為人們的不幸深感難過。而作為一 個道教徒，他相信在這些災難背後一定有著深刻的原因。

　　「除了我的師傅林道長，沒有人能知道其中的原由。」忙里抽暇，李備德來到了二仙觀拜訪他的師傅。這時他的師傅正在靜坐修煉。

　　李備德走進屋子後，道長微微點頭致意。李備德說道：「師傅，最近本地天災人禍不斷，請問究竟是何原由。強盜像發怒的蜂群一樣洗劫村莊，他們殺人放火，無惡不作。而洪水使人們多年勞作的成果毀于一旦。師傅，請您告訴我，這一切究竟是為什麼。」

　　「 我很少離開這座道觀，」道長說道。「世上的事情我並不知曉。」 「可是　　為什麼人們會遭受如此可怕的災難呢？」

　　道長深深地嘆了一口氣。「這是他們自食其果。人們總是自私自利，殘酷無情。他們只顧滿足自己的口腹之欲，所以他們殺害生靈，食其血肉。

　　「那些被殺害的生靈充滿了怨氣。當這些怨氣積累起來，自然的和諧就被打破了，于是天閘崩壞，洪水泛濫。有的被害的生靈投胎為人，他們燒殺搶掠，就是為了要報復人們在他們身上所犯下的罪過。

　　「沒有人能逃脫自然的掌控。誰犯下罪過，不幸就會降臨到他和他的家人身上。違背自然規律的人遲早會給自己帶來災禍的。」

　　儘管這個故事已經過去了幾百年，對于處于二十世紀末的我們來說，它仍然非常重要。佛羅里達遭受颶風和龍卷風的襲擊。加里佛尼亞地震頻頻，土地乾旱，而後又遭受洪水沖洗。在全國各地，狂風暴雪摧毀了人們的財產，使成千上萬的人無家可歸。

　　我們應該聽聽這位古代聖賢的話，看看我們是如何在自然面前肆虐的。當今社會上，殺戮、暴力、吸毒、同性戀、狂亂的音樂、酗酒、聳人聽聞的報道以及性亂交等等，這些丑惡的東西被很多人當作是消 遣娛樂。有什麼奇蹟出現，能讓自然再容忍我們嗎？