58.A handful of precious soil
One day, while the Buddha was begging for food in a poor village, he encountered some children playing on the dirty road.They are building a town with mud and sand, with walls, creators, residences, and even rivers inside.When they saw the Buddha and the monks approaching, a little boy said to the others: Buddha and the monks pass by our town, shouldn’t we offer them?
The other children thought this idea was very good, but they said: But we are just children, what can we offer to the Buddha?
The child who proposed to offer his offering replied: Listen, my friend, don’t we store a lot of rice and grain in our mud warehouse?We can take some to offer to the Buddha.
The other children were so happy that they applauded.They dug a handful of soil from the silt silt, acted as their rice and grain, and placed it on a leaf.The child who came up with this idea knelt on the ground.The little boy said: People in our towns now offer rice in the warehouse, and I hope you will accept it.
Buddha smiled.He patted the child's head gently and said: Child, thank you for providing us with this precious rice.You really have the heart.
The Buddha turned around and said to Ananda: Ananda, please accept these offerings.Back to Jingsheming, mix it with a little water and apply it on the mud bricks in my house.
Ananda took the handful of soil.The little boy asked the Buddha to sit on a big rock under a banyan tree.Ananda and the monks also gathered together.
The Buddha told the child a story:
Many lifetimes ago, there was a prince named Wei Shipengtaluo.He is a kind and generous man.He often shares his belongings with those in poverty and needy.His wife Madali also has the same mind.She knew that her husband was very happy to help others, so she never complained about her husband giving so much money to others.They had a son named Jalin and a daughter named Keliz Nagina.
During a famine, Prince Wei Zipeng Taluo obtained the consent of his father and distributed rice, food and wages to the hungry people from the warehouse.The situation for the people was so bad that the storage in the warehouse was almost exhausted.This caused some ministers to make a small statement.They intended to stop the prince from continuing to do so.First, they reminded the king that if the prince continues to do this, the country will suffer.They revealed that the prince had sent a treasure elephant from the palace, and the king of power of use was also shocked.Finally, they successfully convinced the king to send his only son to the remote mountainous area of Jayewara, so that he could experience a hard and simple life.Wei Shipengtaro, Madali, and their two children were exiled.
On their journey to the mountains, they met a beggar.The prince took off his coat and gave it to him.When he met other poor people again, Madali gave them his clothes.Not long after, Jalin and Kelizi Nagina also donated their clothes.Along the way, their family gave all their jewelry and property to those in need.Before they reached the mountainous area, they had nothing left.Finally, the prince even gave the carriage and horse they rode to others.The prince hugged Jalin, and Madali also picked up Kelizi Najina.In this way, they walked without regrets until they arrived at Jayatura.They hummed songs while walking, without feeling any worries.They feel at ease.
This is a long journey.When they arrived on the mountain, Wei Shipeng Taro and Madali had both red, swollen and bleeding.Fortunately, they found an abandoned house on the slope.This was lived in by a practitioner before.After cleaning, they collected a lot of branches and leaves to make beds.There are enough fruits and wild vegetables in the forest for them to eat.The two children soon learned to collect food, wash clothes with spring water, sow seeds and garden.The prince and his wife taught the children to recognize words and write, filling large pieces of leaves with paper, and making pens with thorny branches.
Although their lives are hard, they all lived a peaceful life with satisfaction.One day, Wei Shipeng Taluo and Madali came back from picking wild fruits outside and found that a pair of children had been kidnapped.They searched around the nearby villages, but they had no whereabouts.
Finally, they came home with fatigue and disappointment, hoping that the children had returned on their own.They could not see the children in the house, but were shocked by a police officer sent from the palace.When the official commander told them that Jalin and Kelizi Najina were both safe and sound, they were overjoyed when they were with the king in the palace.When they asked about the matter, the official officer told them: A few days ago, a wife in the palace saw someone selling children in the market.She recognized the two children as a pair of children of the prince.So she hurried home and told her husband who was a staff officer.He immediately went to the market to tell the vendor that he would bring the child to the palace, and he would also guarantee that he would get a good reward.The king also recognized his grandson with a treacherous dress and dirty face.He found that he really missed you very much.
The king asked: Where did you find these two children?How much do you sell them?
But before the vendor could answer, the staff officer first said: Your Majesty, the woman sells one thousand taels of gold and one thousand cows.The man sold 100 taels of gold and 100 cows.
Everyone thought it was very strange at that time.The king asked: Why do women sell so much more expensive than men?
The staff officer replied: You must cherish more women than men.You never scold the princesses for their bad deeds.You treat them very well as maids in the palace.You have only one son, but you exiled him to the mountainous areas where tigers and leopards appear and only have wild fruits to eat.Don't you obviously value girls over boys?
The king couldn't help crying.Please don't continue.I understand what you mean.
The king learned that the vendor also bought the child from another man on the mountain.So he gave some silver vendors and led the military and police to collect the kidnappers.Hugging their two grandchildren, the junior year asked them in detail about their living conditions in the mountains over the past few years.He ordered his daughter-in-law to be taken back to the city.From the beginning, the king cherished his son very much and helped him work to rescue the poor.
The children all like this story very much.The Buddha smiled at them and said, Prince Luo is very happy that everyone shares all his things.Today, you shared with me the rice and grain in your warehouse.You made me very happy.If you give others a little gift every day, they can also be very happy.These gifts are not necessarily bought.Giving a flower picked in the field to your parents will already make them very happy.A word of thanks or a little love is also a precious gift.A kind look or a caring act can also bring happiness to others.Give your family and friends a little gift every day.The monks and I are leaving, but I will always remember what you offer today.
The little boy promised that they would invite more friends to visit the Buddha and the monks at Gion Monastery.They really want to hear the Buddha tell stories.
The next summer, the Buddha returned to Raja City to preach.Afterwards, he went to Lingjiu Mountain, where Xuboga visited him, and invited the Buddha to stay in the mango garden for a few days.After the Buddha accepted the invitation, he made an appointment with Ananda to meet there.The doctor's mango garden is refreshing and cool.The trees there are in their eighth year of fruition.Xubojia cleaned the house for the Buddha early in the morning and cooked some vegetarian dishes for the Buddha to serve them every day.He suggested that the Buddha suspend begging for a few days to recover his energy, and soaked some herbs for the Buddha to take care of him.
One day, when they sat together, Xubojia said: World-Honored One, some people say that you let the monks eat meat.They threatened that Gottamo could tolerate killing animals for food for themselves and their disciples.Some people even accuse you of asking others to offer meat to the monastic community.I know this is not true, but I still want to hear your opinions on this.
The Buddha replied: Xuboga, those who say I allow the killing of animals for food are not telling the truth.Actually, I have talked about this issue more than once.If a monk sees someone killing animals to offer him food, then the monk will certainly refuse to receive the offering.Even if he didn't witness it himself but just heard it, he should refuse food.Furthermore, even if he had this doubt about the food he offered, he had to refuse.Xuboga, according to the habit of begging for food, unless he knows that the offering kills animals because of offering food to the monks, a monk should accept any begging for food.Those who know that monks make compassion will only offer vegetarian food to monks.But sometimes, they really have to have meat food.Others do not know that monks eat vegetarian food because they have never been exposed to Buddha, Dharma, or Sangha.In this case, in order to avoid offending the offering, the monks should accept their offerings for food.
Xubojia, one day, people will understand that monks will not want to kill animals.At that time, no one would offer meat to the monks, and the monks could eat all vegetarian food.
Xubojia said: I believe that vegetarianism is more beneficial to the body.Vegetarians think they are more brisk and less likely to get sick.I have been working for ten years.I found that my health was good and it cultivated my compassion.World Honored One, I am very happy to receive the clear instructions you have given me.
Xubojia also praised the monastery for changing its habit of eating overnight food.Those foods will become bad and lead to illness.The Buddha was very grateful to Xuboga and invited him to the monastery to talk about basic hygiene habits to the monks.
