9.一臂易一命 An Arm For A Life
- AN ARM FOR A LIFE
It was a clear, sunny day. The weather was beautiful.
The Buddha was walking through a forest when he saw a huge eagle chasing a dove. Just as the eagle was about to swoop down and catch it, the dove spotted the Buddha and went to his side for safety. The Buddha protected it from the eagle. The eagle perched on a nearby branch and said, “You can save the dove,but that means you’re starving me. You’re really mean.”
The Buddha kindly said, “Tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll get it for you.”
The eagle replied, “I eat meat.”
The Buddha took out a knife and cut a piece of meat from the flesh of his own arm. He gave it to the eagle, but the eagle complained, “There’s more meat on a dove than that,” so the Buddha sliced off another piece from his arm, but he was getting down to the bone where there’s not much meat. Finally he had cut all the meat off his arm, but there still wasn’t as much as the weight of the dove.
The eagle asked the Buddha, “Are you sorry you’ve ruined your own arm?”
The Buddha answered, “I am not in the least bit sorry. My mission is to save all living things. What difference does a bit of flesh off my arm make?”
The eagle sneered, “You’re just saying that to sound good.”
The Buddha said, “If my words are the sincere truth, may my arm grow back as good as new.” When the Buddha made this oath, the flesh on his arm did grow back, just like new.
When the eagle saw this, he flew up into the sky and revealed his true shape: he was the Emperor of Heaven! He had heard that the Buddha was kind,so he had come to test him. He showed his deepest respect to the Buddha and then flew away, singing great praises for the Buddha’s mercy.
Before long, everyone knew that the Buddha had cut away his own arm in order to save a dove.
- 一臂易一命
這天風和日麗，天氣真好。
佛陀正走過一片樹林，忽然他看見一只巨鷹正在追一只鴿子。老鷹正要猛撲鴿子，鴿子認出佛陀，躲到他身邊。佛陀護起鴿子。那只老鷹停在附近的一枝樹枝上，說道：「你救了鴿子，就意味著要讓我餓肚子。你真卑鄙！」 佛陀慈祥地說，「告訴我你想吃什麼，我都會給你。」
老鷹答：「我想吃肉。」
于是佛陀拿出一把刀子，從他自己的手臂上割下一塊肉。他把這塊肉給了老鷹， 但是老鷹還是抱怨， 「 鴿子肉比這多多了 。」因此佛陀又從他的手上割下一塊肉，但是已經快切到骨頭了，肉更少了。最後他把整個手臂的肉都割了下來，但是這還是不如鴿子重。
老鷹問佛陀:」你傷了自己的手臂不後悔嗎?」
佛陀回答道：「一點也不。我的使命就是要拯救所有的生靈。我的手上少了一點肉又有什麼關系呢？」
老鷹譏笑他：「說起來好聽。」
佛陀說，「如果我的話真實不虛，就讓我臂上的肉重新長出來吧。」當佛陀發了這個誓願後，他手上的肉重新長了出來，猶如新生。
老鷹看完後，飛上天空，現出原形：它原來是梵天！他聽說佛陀很慈悲，于是特地來考驗一下佛陀。他向佛陀表達了他心底的敬意，然後唱著讚美佛陀慈悲的歌飛走了。
不久以後，人人都知道佛陀曾刮臂救鴿。