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A Hundred Men Or So Were Ordained Within A Day Origin: The Middle Origin Sutra, Volume 1, Chapter Immediate Convert (Welcome), (Long Agama) After Buddha had the five monks taken refuge, in Varanasi city, there was a senior named Ajili who had a son when he was born a pair of glass shoes were born with him. Ajili and his wife thought he was extraordinary! So they named him Precious. At the age of twenty-four, Precious spent all his time with call girls in his personal resort during the summer and winter vacation. One day, he suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and saw all prostitutes lying there like corpses, some overflowing with pus and blood, some amputated. The whole house remained like a cemetery. The sight frightened him to death. He was running for his life. Just when he was desperate to get out of the house, the door suddenly flung itself open. It was pitch dark outside. Only a small light in distance lit its way for him. Precious followed the light and eventually arrived at Buddha’s place. The minute he was awed by Buddha’s magnificent sublime appearances, all his worries were set aside. Somehow, he no longer felt troubled nor confused in mind. Precious praised Buddha from afar, “ Is it possible I can reach liberation here with you after being chained in the prison of love and attachments and prosecuted by names and aggregates?” Buddha welcomed him. He said, “ Boy! You’ve done well to come here to be enlightened. “ Buddha spoke Dharma to Precious. Immediately, Precious obtained the eye of undefiled Dharma. He then asked Buddha to wish to become his follower. Buddha said, “Welcome, Bhikkhu.”, Precious was ordained on the spot. The next morning, ladies who woke up from dead sleep found no sight of Precious. Panic kicked in and they all became tearful. The whole house was in distress. Precious’s father was alarmed. He came and questioned Precious’s whereabouts. Girls said, “ We honestly have no idea!”, Ajilin cringed. Without further delay, he sent out search parties. He himself was also tracking. He came to a stream named Benares. He treaded through and discovered one glass shoe on the bank. Ajilin followed footprints and trailed to The Deer Park in Sarnath. Meanwhile, Buddha used his magical ability to separate Ajilin from Precious. When Ajilin met Buddha, again he was thrilled by his omniscient glamour. He was in such a state he totally forgot his manners and started questioning directly, “ I followed the footprints of my son Precious all the way here. Has Gautama (Buddha’s surname) seen him?”Buddha replied, “If he should be here, all for the better reason why you don’t need to worry about him. Buddha continued, “ The cause to all origins of life and death is ignorance. All relationships in love are met with separation in the end. You should discard billions of unvirtuous thoughts and enter the irreversible state. “, Precious, standing aside appearing invisibly to his father, understood the meaning immediately and became an Arhat. Shortly, the father and son were reunited. Their attachment to each other in the name of love was very little. Ajilin couldn’t help himself but saying, “ I am absolutely over the moon for two reasons: One is that I got to meet Buddha in person, listened and understood his words; Two is I have managed staying away from clinging loving relationships. Precious has four very close friends: Furu, Vimali, Joyanbo, and Shudo. They were thrilled to learn of Precious's becoming a monk. They commented, " Being such an astounding and honourable person, Precious chose to be ordained. Whatever he was seeking must be genuine. It has to be worthwhile for him to give up everything. ", So those four went to see Precious. They were also very keen on becoming monks. Upon seeing their wishes, Buddha welcomed them to be ordained. Buddha also explained the importance of taming one's mind, to aim for clarity and peace. those hundred spirits understood what good is it immediately. Like his best friend, Furu, Vimali, Joyanbo, and Shudo.reached also obtained Arhatship. |
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来自： 玉莲Beatrice > 《白話佛經故事》
