Strange cause
A female lay practitioner in her sixties asked the old monk Miaofa, saying that she had always felt suffocated in her heart and chest for decades, and had been to many hospitals but could not find the disease. She took an unknown amount of Chinese and Western medicine but it had no effect, and she simply gave up. After listening to the Dharma taught by Master, I believed it very much and asked Master to investigate whether I had done any karma to get this problem.
Old monk Miaofa asked: “You used to live in the countryside, right?”
“I was originally from a rural area, and then my husband transferred from the army and moved to the city.”
“When you were in the countryside, did you poke out a swallow’s nest on the roof above the stove?”
“Yes, there is such a thing. The swallow’s nest was placed on top of the pot. How dirty it was! I used a stick to poke it down.”
picture
“What happened next?”
“When the swallow came back, it found that its nest was gone. It flew up and down in the kitchen angrily, and then circled and chirped in front of the house for a long time before disappearing.”
The old monk Miaofa said: “You could have used other methods to let the swallows move to a nest, but you violently made them suddenly lose their place of residence and become homeless. Buddhism promotes the idea of “all living beings are equal”, and today’s society does not advocate it. ‘Do humans and nature live in harmony?’ Disturbing living beings is one of the reasons why you are holding your breath.”
The female lay practitioner just woke up from a dream and nodded in agreement.
Master asked again: “You are a very frugal person and know how to cherish money and things. When you walk on the road and see cans or other waste that have been thrown away, you will pick them up and sell them for more money. Is there such a thing? ?”
The female lay practitioner asked, “I don’t steal or rob, but am I guilty of picking up some scraps and selling them for a few bucks?”
“I didn’t say you were guilty. Judging from your family’s circumstances, your life is affluent. You should leave those waste products to those who really have difficulty in life to pick them up. Life is not difficult, but to pick up this small fortune is greedy. Learn Buddhism People should never forget “compassion, joy and sacrifice” for a moment. I wonder if you agree with what I am saying?”
The female lay practitioner said with shame, “Master is right! I just thought that since things are discarded by others, they can be sold for money. If I don’t pick them up, I won’t pick them up. I didn’t think that much. I will never pick them up again in the future.”
Old monk Miaofa smiled: “Although the mistake you made is small, it still hinders your pure practice, so the air path is blocked. Do you feel better now?”
After a while, the female lay practitioner said with joy, “Oh, I’m really well! My whole body feels relaxed, and I can breathe much easier!”
