Although the toothpick is small, you can’t take it if you don’t give it.
“Master, I have been a convert for more than 30 years. I have never wasted anything, and I have never dared to do anything wrong. However, in the past two years, I have always felt like needles in my stomach. I went to the hospital for a check-up and said My stomach is as good as a young man’s. I don’t know what kind of karma I have created. Could you please show me, Master?”
Old monk Miaofa said with a smile: “I opened a gastric disease specialist clinic today, and the business is very prosperous.” Everyone laughed.
Master continued: “In the past few years, you have to pick your teeth with a toothpick every time you eat, right?”
“Yes, there are gaps in my teeth. I have to pick them with a toothpick after eating.”
“You often go out to eat in restaurants, right?” Master asked again.
“Yes.”
“After you’ve picked your teeth after a meal, before you leave, do you still need to pick a few toothpicks from the toothpick tube and take them away?”
The old layman seemed very surprised: “My wife and I spend one to twenty yuan every time we eat out. Is it sinful for me to use just a few toothpicks?”
“Yes, toothpicks are provided to guests for free for use when dining. Even if you spend one or two hundred yuan per meal, you can’t just take more toothpicks back for use unless you have greeted the waiter. Take them away without saying hello. , although it is not stealing, it is greed. Although this greed is small and small, no one will blame you if they see it, but you are an old layman with bodhicitta, “Don’t take what you don’t give, don’t be greedy for anything.” This principle must be understood by those who practice Bodhisattva practice. Do you understand it now?”
At this time, the old layman was filled with Dharma joy and said happily: “I understand, Master.”
The old monk Miaofa went on to say: “For a person who practices Bodhisattva practice, it is very important to act with heart and thoughts. If you feel upset because you pick up a few toothpicks too many times, this is actually the blessing of the Buddha and Bodhisattva to you, to prevent the slightest change and help you in this life. Achieve the right result of cultivation. As the saying goes, “turn the subtle confusion in the void, and turn the big wheel of Dharma in the dust.” Once you understand the truth, the disease will no longer exist.”
