血施

　　Offering Blood-Meal

　　站在窗口，望著往來的人流，看著他們忙碌的身影，不禁思緒紛纭。

　　Standing by the window, I saw many people out there. As they rushed about here and there, my mind started to wander too.

　　一陣“嗡嗡”的聲音打斷了我的思緒。一只花白的蚊子落在了我的手臂上，原來是你這個家夥！

　　All of a sudden, a buzzing sound cut short my thought. A brown-white mosquito alighted on my arm. So, it”s you, the noisy one!

　　只見它伸出吸管，插入了我的手臂。我一邊念著觀音心咒，希望它能早日解脫，一邊欣賞它吸血的憨態。可能是怕一不留神丟失了這份難得的食物，它始終目不斜視並紋絲不動。不一會兒，細細的肚子變得滾圓。它滿意地抽出吸管，可能是吃得太多的緣故吧，笨重的它飛飛停停，在我身上駐留了好幾次，才顫顫巍巍地離開了，空氣中又響起了“嗡嗡”的聲音，與剛才不同的是，歡樂的成分更重了。沒想到，心情快樂的時候，連蚊子也能奏出美妙的音樂。

　　Presently it drew its proboscis and pierced my arm. I began reciting Avalokitesvara”s heart mantra wishing its swift liberation, and at the same time entertained myself with its cute way of feeding. The mosquito, perhaps fearing to lose its rare feast in a slip, appeared completely absorbed and cast no side-glances. Soon its slender abdomen rounded up, only then did it decide to withdraw its mouthpiece, ever so satiated. Perhaps getting too full and heavy, it wiggled up and down on my body a few times before managing to take off with a wobble. The humming resumed, but unlike the earlier one, it now vibrated with a happy overtone. Strange to say, even a mosquito is able to make pleasing music when in a good mood.

　　我趕緊將釋迦牟尼佛在因地布施血肉時所誦的偈子背誦出來以作回向：“此福願獲遍知果，摧毀作害之怨敵，救度衆生皆擺脫，生老病死叁有海”。

　　I immediately made a dedication prayer by reciting the verse from Buddha Shakyamuni when he offered his flesh and blood to evil spirits in his previous life:

　　By this merit may all beings attain omniscience.

　　May it defeat the enemies of wrongdoing.

　　From the stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death,

　　May we free all beings from the ocean of samsara.

　　當然，布施一只蚊子微不足道的血，與世尊的功德實在不能同日而語，但“滴水雖微小，漸次盈大器。”作爲凡夫，能從一點一滴的小事做起，相信總有一天，就能達到與佛陀無異的境界。

　　Certainly, my offering of meniscus blood to a mosquito is in no way comparable with the great deeds of the Buddha. The saying goes: “Although water droplets are tiny, gradually they fill a vast huge container.” Although an ordinary person can only accomplish tiny virtuous deeds, by accumulating them drop-by-drop, the day will surely come when he eventually reaches the same level as that of the Buddha.

　　壬午年五月初六　　

　　2002年6月16日

　　6th of May, Year of RenWu

　　June 16, 2002