A Wonderful Parable of the Pure Land School
淨土宗妙喻
9.1 The Impoverished Son (continued)
The father, however, was rather disheartened by his son working as a toilet cleaner. He moaned, “How can I allow my son to do such an inferior job?” Father and son were yet to recognize each other, and the old man’s legacy had yet to be entrusted to his heir. The wealthy elder then decided that he should first acquaint himself with his son.
So he put on torn and filthy clothes which were more appropriate for toiling in the fields or sweeping dung. With cleaning tools in his hands, he set off to work together with his son. He chatted with him amiably, showing great affection. The destitute son, who had never felt parental love in his whole life, was deeply touched by the elder’s tender loving care. “How could a person be so nice!” he thought, having no idea that the rich elder was in fact his own father.
As time went by and they got to know each other well, the elder decided to reveal his true identity. “ To tell you the truth”, he told his son, “I am the owner of this manor.”
The poor lad was startled upon hearing that and let out a spontaneous cry, “Master!” The elder felt sad and said to his boy gently, “You are an honest lad. I saw you working very hard and decided to treat you like my son. I am growing old you know, and have no child of my own. You can help take care of things for me here. Please don’t turn down my offer? “
The son felt greatly honored by the unexpected appreciation the rich elder showed him. He felt very privileged that this wealthy elder now treated him like a son.
Over time, the father began to teach his son proper skills of management, such as deployment of staff. He also made him learn about all aspects of the finances and even let him be in charge of keeping the books.
The son worked hard and earnestly. He insisted, however, on living in the work shed originally assigned to him when he first came, and he only took the daily wage due to him for his work. When he finished his book-keeping and accounting in the evening, he would say to himself, “All this money belongs to the master; my share is ten dollars.”
As more time passed, the son made steady progress. With higher aspirations and bigger goals, his horizons broadened. He also became more competent. The rich elder then decided that it was time to reveal that they were father and son.
Finally, he called for an assembly of all the important figures he could find in order to make an announcement: “Thank you all for coming! I have something important to tell you. I am getting old. I lost my son in the year of ...”
Bit by bit, the elder unraveled the story. Meanwhile, as the impoverished man listened to the old man’s story, he began to realize that he was the son his master was referring to.
Then, the truth at last! “Now, I have found my son——here he is!” Pointing to the dumbfounded lad, the elder declared: “Today, I entrust all of the fortune I possess to my son. It is all at his disposal.
Only then did the son realize that the elder who had been so kind and compassionate to him was his own father!
Therefore, as the Lotus Sutra says, “It has never been my intent to receive anything special. Still, his treasure house has come into my possession, unsought and un-awaited.”
The Sutra also says, “Today we have spontaneously received unprecedented treasures which we hadn’t even dreamed of. We now realize that we are truly the sons of the Buddha.”
This is the end of the story. Below I will give an exposition of it.
(to be continued tomorrow)
9.1 窮子喻 (續)
窮子一聽，嚇了一跳，就喊「老爺」，大富長者聽了，心裏很難過，就對窮子說：「你到莊園之後，誠實本分，幹活很賣力氣。你就做我的乾兒子，我年紀大了，沒有兒子，你可以幫我做點事，希望你不要推辭。」
突然得到大富長者的重視，他感到很榮幸，把親生父親拜做乾老子，還覺得很榮幸。
又過了一段時間，大富長者開始 慢慢培養他，教他做會計、做出納，掌管財務。工人的支派、財產的進出 都由他負責。
窮子做得很賣力，也很認真，但他還是住工棚裏，每天拿自己的一分工資，晚上算賬的時候，「這個是老闆的，我的是十塊。」
又過了一段時間，大富長者一看，窮子的志向慢慢提高了，心量逐漸擴展了，能力也愈來愈具足了，就準備宣布他們的父子關係。
這一天，他就把重要的人物全部找來，開一個「新聞發布會」，父子相認。「有勞各位到這裏來，有一點事情跟大家講。我已經年老了，我的兒子是在哪一年丟失的……」窮子愈聽愈覺得在說自己；長者從頭道來，慢慢引導，「現在，我找到兒子，就是他。」長者指著窮子說，「現在我把所有財產全部給他，由他掌管。」
兒子這時才知道：原來對我這麼慈悲的人不是外人，正是我的父親！
所以，《法華經》說：我本無心，有所希求。今此寶藏，自然而至。
又說：無量珍寶，不求自得。而今乃知，真是佛子。
故事就講到這裏，下面把這個故事做一番解釋。
Namo Amituofo!
