..续本文上一页人来服侍自己。所以我就是在东北、在香港，又到了美国，我对在家人从来也不斟茶、也不倒水，什么也没有；我是干干净净的，连个水果碟子也没有。普通的，照中国的丛林，护法来了，也摆出水果碟子，里边或者龙眼、桂圆、花生，又什么长生果、短命果的这一套──没有短命果，是吧？那么摆出来。我是不懂得这一套的，所以我到什么地方，人家都说我最冷淡了，不会招呼人。我不敢招呼人！我招呼人，我怕损了人家七年福报！那怎么办呢？他七年不能做国王了！我固然是没有证果的人，但是你怎么知道这里头没有这个因呢？
Therefore, you lay people should not let the monastics serve you tea or rice, or do anything to greet you. In the temple, you should take care of yourselves and not let the monastics wait on you. In some temples, monastics seek to please the laypeople. Some of them even make half bows to the laypeople and treat them with great hospitality. Why do they do that
They are obsequious in order to develop relationships with the rich. This is not right. Even if you as a monastic have not attained sagehood, your status is still higher than that of laypeople. Therefore laypeople must not ask the monastics to serve them. In Dongbei, Hong Kong and America, I have never poured tea or served water to laypeople. I never do anything for them. I”m very simple. I don”t even offer plates of fruit. In the ordinary monasteries in China, when Dharma protectors come, plates of fruit—longan, dried longan, peanuts or other nuts—are set on the table. I don”t comply with such conventions. Therefore no matter where I go, people say that I”m too aloof and that I don”t know how to serve people. I dare not serve people! I”m afraid if I did I would decrease their blessings by seven years and if they were the king, their reign would be decreased by seven years. I no doubt am someone who has not attained sagehood. But how can you be sure that there won”t be any consequences in doing this
有一次，有一位长者，这个长者就专门很调皮的。怎么调皮呢？他用栴檀木做一个钵。做个钵，你愿意给谁就给谁；或者你抽个签也可以，说：「你们大家抽签，我就这么一个钵，谁抽到就给谁！」他不是，他把它放到那个庙的塔上边去。上边大概很不容易拿下来的，不知道用起重机或者用直升机，可以拿到的；他那时候不知用了什么方法？不知用个什么小鸟带上去的？总而言之，这人不容易到的地方，他放到那地方，说：「你们哪一位说你们有神通，你们若能用神通把这个钵取下来，我这个？就供养你！」当时这些个有神通的阿罗汉一想：不可！不可！因为我一用神通要去拿下来，这就表示自己贪图这个钵，有贪心了；若不拿嘛？他好像也是来故意这么试验，想要看我们大家有没有神通。你说这怎么办？
Once there was an elder who was particularly mischievous. How so
He used some sandalwood to make an almsbowl. If you want to give away an almsbowl you can simply give it to anyone you wish; or you could let everyone draw lots. You can say, “Let”s draw lots for my almsbowl.” But he didn”t do that. Instead he placed the alms-bowl at the top of a pagoda in the temple. It was probably not easy to get it from the top. Maybe one could get it using a hoist or a helicopter. But I don”t know how he managed to get it up there; I don”t know what kind of bird he sent to place the almsbowl there. He put it in an inaccessible place. He said, “If any of you have spiritual penetrations and manage to get the almsbowl using your spiritual penetrations, I will give it to you.” At that time, some Arhats with spiritual penetrations thought, “No way! In no case will I do this! If we use our spiritual penetrations to take it down, it will show that we covet the almsbowl and are greedy. However, if none of us take it down, this elder seems to be testing us to see if we have spiritual penetrations. What are we to do
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这个时候，这些证果阿罗汉也都不知怎么好，也无所适从啦！那么这个宾头卢颇罗堕在很远的地方，他在树下补衣服呢！他也听见这个消息；他就想开开玩笑，就到那地方，用个神通踊身虚空，把那个钵给拿下来了。拿下不要紧，就被佛大闹了一顿，说：「你在人家面前显神通，这是不应该有的。你既然犯了这个过错，我不准你再跟着我了，我不要你做常随众了！也不准你入灭了──就不准你往生，不准你入涅槃！你要常常住在世界，谁请你，你就一定要去的，你要做世间应供的福田，给世人种福。」所以这一位宾头卢颇罗堕，他也就：「那也很好玩的，我可以的！我像个小孩子，我和世间小孩子来玩一玩！」所以现在谁要请他，他就到那儿去应供。可是我告诉你，他不叫你认识；你要是注意，他又…，总而言之，叫你不认识。这是宾头卢颇罗堕他大概的意思。以前他们讲的，都比我讲的更详细；我这个是按着我的看法和见解，和你们大家讲一讲。
At that time, these Arhats who had attained sagehood did not know what course to take. Pindola-Bharadvaja was patching his robe under a tree at a faraway place. While he was patching his robe, he heard about what was happening. He then wanted to play a joke on them. So he went to the place using his spiritual penetrations, soared high into the space and took the almsb…
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