Stories for children of all ages
translated by GB Talovich
Edited by Silent Voices
Long ago, an old, old hermit lived deep in the woods. He was so kind that he never killed any living creature. One day he was sitting under an ancient tree. Just as he began to meditate, he felt a gust of wind coming towards him. “That’s strange,” he thought, and opened his eyes. He saw a little bird sitting in his lap. The bird was not at all flustered to be sitting there. In fact, it was quite at home, as if it were perching on a twig. The hermit recited the Buddha Amitabha’s name, and said to himself, “So you think my lap is a perch? Well, then, I can hardly refuse. Amitabha, this is good. This is good.”
Then the little bird curled up and went to sleep, right there in his lap. The hermit was afraid to disturb its dreams, so he began looking into his own heart, and immediately entered a very deep state of meditation.
Much later, he left his meditation state, but the bird was still sleeping soundly. He didn’t move, because he didn’t want to bother it. He said very quietly, “Amitabha. Just keep sleeping. You can fly away when you’ve slept your full.”
Finally, the little bird woke up. It flapped its wings and stretched its legs. It chirped quietly a few times. Then it straightened its feathers with its beak, and flapped its wings a few more times. Only then did it fly away.
When it had flown away, the old hermit got to his feet. He watched his little friend until it was out of sight. Then he left the tree and went back to his little hut.
related post: 《The Love of Life》- Saving The Dragon King's Son
Source Of Information:
《Wisdom of the Buddhas》, by Venerable Wu Ling, based on the Talks of Venerable Master Chin Kung, translated by Silent Voices, published in August, 2012, distributed by Amitabha Buddhist Society Malaysia (92, Jalan Pahang, 53300 Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
*** The information provided above does not contain personal opinion of this blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment