Although my mother is old, she is still in good health and can still move. Whenever Dong Pai comes home from cutting firewood in the mountains or selling firewood in the city, he can eat hot dishes and rice prepared by her mother.
But not long ago, my mother was fine during the day, but she didn't get up in the morning. Dong Pai came back from the mountain early in the morning to cut a load of firewood. He thought his mother had cooked breakfast as usual and was just waiting for him to come back to eat.
This time it felt wrong. When I came back at this time on weekdays, I didn't even walk into the house. I just walked to the front of the house and could smell the aroma of food filling the air. Not at the moment, and there was no movement in the house. As usual, my mother had already gotten up and was busy.
Dong Pai called "Mom" several times, but no one responded. He walked into the main room, kitchen room and backyard and looked everywhere, but there was no sign of his mother.
He went back to his mother's bedroom and found his mother still lying on the bed, with her eyes closed, half of a twist stick in her mouth and the other half in her hand.
Dong Pai shouted "Mom" a few more times, but there was no response. He stretched out his hand to try under his mother's nostrils. There was no air left, and his body felt cold. Dong Pai burst into tears beside the bed, his tears dripping down and wetting the uppers of a new pair of cloth shoes that his mother had recently made for him.
After burying his mother, Dong Pai felt particularly lost. He kept thinking: I didn’t know how many twists he bought for his mother to eat, but they were all good. Why did he choke to death after eating only half of the twist this time? Is it just that I'm old and can't do anything anymore? In poor health? Sick? He was puzzled.
One afternoon, he took the new pair of cloth shoes his mother made for him, ran across several mountains, came to a temple, and gave them to an old monk. The old monk clasped his hands and recited Amitabha, and then asked, Donor, you gave me a pair of new shoes. I accepted them. Excuse me, what can I do?
Dong Pai said that his mother choked to death after eating mahua, which puzzled him. He also emphasized that I don't believe that people can choke to death after eating less than half a mahua. Besides, my mother can't eat anything. It's done slowly, and it's impossible to choke to death.
After the old monk meditated for a while with his eyes slightly closed, he opened his eyes and said, "Your mother didn't choke to death on eating mahua, but was strangled to death by your brother."
how? Dong Pai asked.
Do you have a brother? The old monk asked questions.
Dong Pai lowered his head and said that when he was 14 years old, he had a brother named Director. Could it be that he didn’t have a good name? Director, which is a homophone for waiting to die, so he had to wait for death. When he was only 10 years old, he suffered from a strange disease called potbelly, which caused bloating. The bulging was not cured even by the doctor, and he died later.
At this point, Dong Pai asked again, Master, I still don't understand. My brother's potbelly disease was caused by himself, and it was not caused by my mother. Why did he strangle my mother to death?
The old monk shrugged his robe and said, "That's a good question." One thing you don't know is that your brother wanted to drink broth a few days before he died. He told your mother that your mother didn't simmer the broth for him to drink. Your mother thought that he didn't need to drink broth because he had such a big belly. , you can’t drink any soup.
In fact, your brother is suffering from liver and ascites. He wants to drink broth, but he may not be able to drink a lot. He just wants to drink. Your mother should give it to him to drink, but she doesn’t, so he becomes angry and resentful. As soon as he dies, he enters the realm of hungry ghosts and becomes a hungry ghost.
So when your mother's end was approaching, he came ahead of time to take revenge and strangled her to death. In fact, this is also against the law of the underworld. When the envoy came to take your mother's soul, he found that he had not done anything. Why did the old man die?
Looking again, I found another kid snatching the twists from your mother's hand. The spirit of your mother, who had already left her body, said to Goushi that it was my unfilial little son who grabbed my neck and choked me to death. Naturally, your brother, the director, has been punished by the laws of the underworld, and now he is not even qualified to be a hungry ghost.
Because of his unfilial piety, the Heavenly Court was furious, and the God of Thunder was ordered to blow up a thunder to kill him as a hungry ghost. After his death, he became a ghost, a loose spirit even lower than a hungry ghost.
Hearing this, Dong Pai asked around the topic, Master, my situation is so bad and so poor, can it be changed? The old monk said that people's poverty and wealth are all made by themselves. If you give more in the past life, you will be rich in this life. If you are stingy in the past life, like a porcelain rooster, if you are stingy to death, you will not be rich in this life, and you will only live in poverty.
No matter how clever you are, you can't get rich. If you are still hard-working, you can only pretend to be a fool and live a life without getting rich.
Dong Pai lowered his head and asked, "Can I change my poor life into a rich life?" The old monk replied, that is difficult. Of course, it can still be changed, that is, you need to give more alms and donate more. It does not mean that you come to the temple to give alms and donate more. It means that you should be willing to give alms and donate to people in need or other sentient beings, and help them with compassion. Solve your difficulties, which will not only change your poor life, but also clear up your stagnant future, and everything will change for the better.
Master, I believe what you say and I will do what you say in the future. Dong Pai bowed his hands and left the temple gate.
Amitabha, thank you to the donor for giving me a pair of new cloth shoes. The old monk said as he gave me a ride.
Master, don’t thank me, thank my mother. This pair of new cloth shoes was made by my mother. Dong Pai turned around and spoke.
Thank you all, thank you all! Buddha and Bodhisattva bless you. The old monk who spoke auspicious words watched Dong Pai walk into the forest before returning to the temple.
On this day, Dong Pai pushed a chicken cart stacked with three loads of firewood to Jinsecheng South Street for sale. On ordinary days, he only picked up one load of firewood to sell, but now he sold two more loads on the original basis and earned twice as much copper coins.
He remembered the general meaning of the old monk's words, and planned to use part of the copper coins he received to give charity and do some merit, in order to change his destiny and repair his future life.
As soon as this idea flashed in my mind, I smelled a fishy smell in the air, and then I heard shouts - fish are for sale, fresh big carp like Ya'er, just caught from the river around the city …
Dong Pai looked around and saw a strong man at the street intersection in front of him carrying a large carp still covered in a fishing net on his shoulders. The fish's tail was still swinging from time to time. The strong man had a pair of big bare feet covered with calluses. His trouser legs were rolled up high, and the thick, black leg hair was particularly eye-catching.
Dong Pai walked over, wanting to feast his eyes on it up close, but had no intention of purchasing. As he approached the street, the strong man had taken off the fishing net covering the big carp, and suddenly he heard a group of onlookers shouting in unison, "Oh, look!" Why is this carp crying?
Dong Pai’s observation is indeed good. He thought to himself: Usually people shed tears, why do fish also shed tears? He immediately felt compassion. This carp was so pitiful. Can you help it? he asked himself in his mind. The strong man saw him standing too close and asked him if he would buy it. Dong Pai was hesitant.
The strong man said, if you don't buy it, just go away. Dong Pai walked away, and the words of the old monk rang in his ears again... You have to be compassionate... to help him get out of trouble... He suddenly stopped and turned around and said, I will buy it, how much does it cost?
The strong man blurted out, I can sell it to you for 30 yuan. Dong Pai knelt down and poured out all the strings of copper coins hidden in the belt around his waist. He held them in his hands, stood up and said a little frustrated, "It's only 29 yuan, one yuan short, should I sell it?" The strong man gave him the big carp with its tearful cheeks still moving and said, "Forget it, forget it, just give me 29 yuan and I can take it."
Dong Pai carefully placed the big carp on his chicken bus and pushed it to the lower reaches of the Huancheng River near the mouth of the Yellow River and released it. When the big carp entered the water, it did not swim away immediately. Instead, it turned around, jumped up, looked at Dong Pai, and swung its tail as if to say thank you and say goodbye to him. Then it dived into the deep water, and a wave slowly dispersed, returning to calm. .
