牧童

　　The Shepherd Boy

　　每天清晨，草尖上已挂著厚重的白霜，呵氣成冰的季節已悄然向我們走來。青草已逐漸失去了水分，顯得幹燥而枯黃。走出房門，迎面碰見一個十五六歲的牧童，他手拿念珠，衣著陳舊，赤裸著雙腳，與二十多年前的我如出一轍。

　　In the morning these days, the tips of grass blades are laden with thick frost. The freezing season when our breath becomes visible like a fog has arrived quietly. As grass starts to lose moisture, the lawns become brittle brown and parched. When I was about to leave the house, I came across a shepherd boy of about 15 or 16 years old clad in worn-out clothes; he was walking barefoot and holding a mala in one hand. This image is strikingly similar to that of mine some 20 years ago.

　　雖然牆上的日曆早已跨入了21世紀，在這個偏僻的角落，仿佛時間的腳步已經停滯了一般，如今的牧童仍然沒有屬于他們的鞋子。

　　Although the calendar on the wall indicates the world is now in the 21st century, yet the march of time seems to have stalled in this remote highland region, as the shepherd boy today still does not own a pair of shoes.

　　我感受過走在秋天幹草上雙腳針刺一般的感覺，每當這個時候，我多麼盼望能擁有一雙鞋啊！記得有一次，父親終于給我買了一雙新膠鞋，但因爲我福報不夠的原因，鞋的尺碼太小，穿在裏面，雙腳受刑一般難受。但爲了不失去夢寐以求的新鞋子，我只有強忍著疼痛，只有到了無人的地方，才能脫下鞋子，撫慰一下我那委屈的腳。

　　I knew exactly the painful stings one feels when walking barefoot on brittle autumn grasses. At that time, how I wished I could own a pair of shoes! I remember once my father finally got me a pair of new rubber shoes. However, perhaps due to my lack of merit, the shoes were too small, and wearing them was an awful torture for my feet. But for fear of losing the new shoes that I had yearned for so long, I bore the agonizing pain and only dared to take them off when no one was around, to relieve briefly my poor sore feet.

　　雖然那時的我們不能擁有物質上的財富，但卻擁有精神上最珍貴的東西——愛心。每當看到小螞蟻被水淹沒，每當看到蚯蚓被烈日暴曬，每當看到魚池的水即將幹枯，我們都會如同身受般解救它們于危難之中。

　　We were so poor during those years in terms of worldly wealth, yet we were rich in having the most valuable thing spiritually—loving-kindness. When seeing the sufferings of other creatures—little ants on the brink of being drowned, earthworms exposed to the scorching sun, fish in a pond running dry of water—we would feel the same pain as they did and try to relieve them of their dangers.

　　能擁有這樣的童年，難道不是比那些尾隨穿金戴銀的父母，身穿名牌服裝，坐著高檔轎車，居于豪華洋房，口啖生猛海鮮，天然的慈悲憐憫之心，已經因爲父輩的扼殺而泯滅的兒童幸運千萬倍嗎？

　　Isn”t it extremely lucky to have such a childhood

　　 Other children may well be sheltered by their parents adorned in gold and silver; they may wear name-brand outfits and be chauffeured in deluxe cars; they live in fancy houses and feast on live seafood dishes. But their innate compassion and loving-kindness are smothered by what they have learned from their parents. Now, compared with them, am I not luckier a thousand times over and beyond

　　看到眼前這位手拿念珠的牧童，他一定也如同我童年時期的夥伴一樣，擁有一顆金子般的愛心。我把他叫到屋裏，給了他許多水果和糖果，雖然沒有合適的鞋子可以給他，但他眼中流露出的興奮已是難以言表的了。他高興地向我告退，向著已經走遠的牦牛飛奔而去。

　　Seeing this shepherd boy with mala in hand, I have no doubt that his heart must be bejeweled with kindness just like my boyhood friends. I invited him to come inside my place and offered him candies and fruits. Although I did not have a suitable pair of shoes for him, I could see he was already quite happy from the look of his eyes. He bid goodbye to me happily, while running fast to catch his yak that was already quite a distance away.

　　壬午年六月十七日 　

　　2002年7月26日 　

　　17th of June, Year of RenWu

　　July 26, 2002