..续本文上一页y down the mountain.

　　Now, to find your way down a mountain in the middle of the night, when it”s completely dark, is very difficult. But the pain was so great, that he felt he needed to do this. Finally he heard the noise of the stream at the foot of the mountain, and he went towards the sound of the stream, and he found the stream. There wasn”t much light, there was a little light from the stars, and he saw the face of the water glistening, and he knew that was the stream. He pulled up his robe, and he sat very stabily and he went to put his hands into the water, but he hadn”t yet scooped the water up yet. The abscess shouted out to him, "Don”t do that, don”t do that!" I don”t know whether it was really the abscess shouting, or whether the sound came up from his own heart: "Don”t do that, don”t do that! Stop! Stop!" It was as though there was somebody shouting, and he threw back the water. He waited.

　　The voice said to him, "Wait! Wait! Your are a very good student of the Buddha. You know all about the history of China. Have you ever read the book called Tai Hang

　　" The monk said, "Yes, I have read that book." The voice said, "If you have read that book, do you know the story about what happened between Vien An and Trieu Tho in the past

　　" The monk had a very good memory, and he said, "Yes, I remember that story about Vien Anh and Trieu Tho."

　　"Do you know what Vien An said so that Trieu Tho had to lose his head

　　 Do you know that when that happened, lifetimes ago, you were Vien An and I was Trieu Tho, and that you spoke in such a way that I lost my head. You were Vien An, who made me suffer so many lifetimes, because you did not practice the Fourth Mindfulness Training. You told a lie: you accused me of crimes I had not done, and therefore the king beheaded me.

　　Then the monk began to shake. It was true—this was the result of what he had done in the past, the cruel things he had done in the past, the fact that he had not practiced the Fourth Mindfulness Training, that he had not spoken the truth. Now he had to bear the result of the action of the past. Then the voice said, "Do you know, after I died, I suffered so much, and I looked for you to try to get revenge, but I couldn”t find you because you had regretted, and you became a very good monk, you kept the precepts very well, and you practiced mindful manners. For many years, I could not find any opportunity to get revenge, because you were practicing so well. Therefore, the resentment in me was never washed away. I was very lucky in this lifetime that you were a monk, and the king made you the National Teacher. I was waiting for any opportunity, and then when that feeling of pride came up in you for just a few moments while you were sitting on the Dharma throne, only then could I enter into your body. Do you know who I am

　　 I am your abscess, I am your karma, I am the action you took in the past." When the monk heard that, sweat came out all over his face, and ran down, although it was a cool night.

　　He had told a lie, he had made another person suffer so much, what could he say now

　　 He did not have the right to say anything—the only thing he could do was to accept his wrongdoing. He bowed his head and he wept. Then he heard the voice coming from the abscess, and it was gentler now, and said: "Luckily you did something good. You helped Master Kaniska, bathing him and looking after him for five years. After that Master Kaniska practiced and realized the path, he became enlightened, and he has great compassion; and for that you are able to come to him. Now, when you wash your abscess with the water, not only will all your suffering end, but my suffering, my resentment will be resolved. So after you”ve washed your abscess, we won”t meet each other again. Now, kneel down and wa…

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