I have everything in the factory and at home
One afternoon, a man in his fifties who looked like a master worker came to visit the old monk Miaofa under the leadership of an old layman. Like an old acquaintance, he smiled as soon as he entered the door, cupped his fists and bowed three times to the master. He turned around and sat down without waiting to give up his seat. You could tell from one glance that he was a cheerful person.
The master asked him: “Did you come here because of back pain?”
He was a little surprised: “Master, you are so amazing. You already knew it before I told you.” He stood up, turned his back to Master, and lifted the clothes on his back: “Look at my waist.”
A waist protector about fifteen centimeters wide, made from a flat wheel belt on a machine, was buckled around his waist.
After he sat down, he continued: “I have been carrying this thing for almost ten years. The hospital said it was lumbar muscle strain. Medicine and injections have no effect on this disease. I can only rely on this waist protector to protect it, otherwise my waist will be straight.” I can’t afford it. It’s better in winter and spring, but let’s not mention the pain I suffered in summer. It was all caused by working hard for my life when I was young. Listen to my old friend, you are a living Bodhisattva, please help me. Let me do it! If you heal my waist, I will burn incense for you every day, and I can kowtow a hundred times a day.” After that, he hugged the master again.
The old monk Miaofa smiled and said: “I am not a Bodhisattva, and I cannot cure diseases. If I were a Bodhisattva, could we still sit here and talk? If I could cure diseases, I should go to the hospital for consultation. Yours Whether the disease is good or not depends on you, because “to untie the bell, you need to tie the bell.” Now let me ask you, if you were asked to quit smoking, drinking, stealing, and meat, what would you do? Are you here?”
“As long as my illness can be cured, you can ask me to give up anything, but I didn’t steal or steal!”
“In addition to pain, does your waist feel heavy?”
“Yes, it seems like there are dozens of kilograms of weight on my waist.”
“Have you ever stolen iron hinges, screws, and nails from your work unit? They are all packed in boxes.”
He was stunned for a moment. After a while, he nodded and said, “That’s right. I’m a fitter in the company. Those who are close to the water and the building have to get paid first. Now who doesn’t take advantage of the country, but can this be considered stealing? Even our factory director often goes home. take things.”
The old monk Miaofa said in a stern tone: “Taking the country’s property home is not stealing. Did you take it openly? Did you put it in an empty lunch box and take it outside the factory?”
This question frightened the master worker. He stared at the master with a pair of big eyes and was speechless.
“Not only these, but also pliers, screwdrivers, wires, you also use the white iron from the factory to make your own chimney, make a dustpan, use wire rods to make stove vents, fire chopsticks, fire hooks, and…”
He suddenly interrupted the old monk Miaofa and said, “Master, stop talking. I have everything in the factory and at home. But how did you know?”
“It’s just that they are weighing you down so much that you can’t even stand up straight!”
Looking at the master worker again, he no longer had the same boldness as when he first came in. I suddenly felt that this study was a bit like the interrogation room of the Public Security Bureau. You looked at him pitifully, like a deflated rubber ball.
He whispered: “Not all the things I took were used for myself, nor were they sold for money. Most of them were given to relatives, friends and neighbors. People’s wages are not high. It belongs to the government anyway. If you don’t take it, you won’t get it for free. I am a fitter, I have some skills, I know how to do some work, I exchange knowledge with the warehouse keeper, and I want to help. This is tacitly understood in the factory, and I don’t think it is stealing at all. I heard Master say this today As soon as I spoke, it was like thunder on a sunny day, it shocked me! God really has eyes! How come you know all the things I stole? How come they are all on my waist? This is really like evil being punished! I said, “Why have the illnesses become worse and worse over the years? It’s not caused by stealing more and more things. Today I understand that “if you don’t want others to know, you have to do nothing” is true! I will tell you now You promise that from today on, you will never smoke, drink, or eat meat again, and you will never be greedy for the country’s benefits. I always keep my word. I will go ask the Buddha statue to offer it tomorrow. Master, what should I buy? Do you read Buddhist books well? I really hate myself for not believing in Buddhism a few years earlier. How many bad things should I have done less?”
I really didn’t expect this man to be so enlightened. Listening to his repentant confession, I could say that I was filled with Dharma joy, and I could see that Master was equally happy.
I said, “I’ll give you some Buddhist books to read first. You can also go to the Buddhist scripture circulation office in the temple to buy them.”
After thanking him, he asked: “What should I do if I have taken so many things from the factory before? How about I return them in money?”
The old monk Miaofa said: “If you repay it like this, you will be in big trouble. If you know to repent in your heart, the cause of the crime will be eliminated. As for repaying the debt to the factory, you can compensate by voluntarily making more contributions to the factory. At the same time, , you should speak out more with your relatives and friends so that they can stop embezzling the country’s property. This means that if you know your mistakes, you must change them. Once you know them, you can do them. You can definitely make up for your mistakes.”
Before leaving, he held a stack of Buddhist books in both hands and solemnly said to the old monk Miaofa: “Just wait and see. If I don’t change the same person, I will be sorry for you.”
Half a month later, he came again. When he entered, he kowtowed in front of our Buddha statue. After he stood up, he lifted up his clothes and showed me that his waist protector was gone.
Before I could ask, he said quickly: “I feel more than half recovered from my illness since I came back here. I have done everything I promised Master Miaofa. I repainted the original wine cabinet. , changed into a Buddhist altar and sutra bookcase, and invited a statue of Guanyin. Now, I read sutras every day, and the sutras are really good! Now my heart is relaxed, my energy is smooth, and my illness is cured! These things Every day, our family is as happy as the Chinese New Year. I am so grateful to Master Miaofa.”
After hearing this, I felt happy for him from the bottom of my heart. This man really “put down the butcher’s knife and became a Buddha immediately”!
