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發表於 2013-1-5 11:45
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| | | | 琉璃王滅釋迦族 / How King Virudhaka Annihilated the Shakya Clan
妙蓮法音道場寫於 2013年1月4日11:21 ·
佛法講因果,不管善業、惡業,「假使百千劫,所作業不亡;因緣會遇時,果報還自受。」那個果報並不是你今天做今天就要受,因果不是同時的。今天做,種下了惡因,明天受嗎?不一定!下一世受嗎?還是再下一世、無量世?也不一定,但總歸有一天會碰到的。這種例子太多了,這裡我說個故事給大家聽。
我們本師釋迦世尊是生於印度的王族,印度有四姓階級,最高貴的是婆羅門,第二等剎帝利是王族,再次一等吠舍,指一般農工商階級,最末一等叫做首陀羅,即所謂賤民種姓。釋迦世尊是迦毘羅衛國的王族,在迦毘羅衛國附近有一個國家叫憍薩羅國,國主是波斯匿王,他要找門當戶對王族之女結婚,就找到釋迦族去,想同他們聯姻。那時釋迦世尊已經出家了,過著平安寂靜的生活。
雖然波斯匿王也是王族,但釋迦族總認為他們自己是最尊貴的,還是不願意同他聯姻。可是又怕波斯匿王勢力大,不答應又不好,於是把王族中一名奴婢冒充為公主許配給他。那奴婢雖是賤種之女,但長得非常美貌,看起來還和善、有福的樣子,這就是末利夫人。後來她生了琉璃太子,這太子長大後不但篡了王位,還滅了釋迦族。這時佛陀雖想挽救,但因果業報太重一時救不了。
為什麼琉璃王要滅釋迦族?這是有近因也有遠因的。近因是琉璃太子小的時候,有一次到迦毘羅衛國學射術,適逢為佛陀新建的講堂將要落成,太子也來遊玩,釋迦族的人認為奴隸所生的孩子走入講堂,污穢了聖地,便下令要把他送回去。並且凡是他足跡所到之處,一律掘地七尺,重換淨土。琉璃太子遭受到這種侮辱,於是憤恨的發誓:「等我將來做了國王,定滅釋迦族!」
遠因是如何呢?在往昔無量劫前,有一個村莊,村莊裡有個大池塘,在大旱之年,池塘的水因乾旱而快枯竭了,池裡的魚一條條的露出水面,村莊裡的人很輕易的就把魚打起來吃。那時是饑荒之年,人連草根都吃了,有魚怎麼不吃?其中有一條特別大的魚,村人把牠打上來就放在池邊,來觀看的人很多。
當時釋尊是村裡的一個小孩,那時他手裡拿著一根棒子,看到那條魚那麼大,不禁調皮地在牠頭上打了三下,小孩子好玩嘛!後來村莊的人把這條大魚殺來吃,種下這個惡因,如今業果已成,果報來了!釋迦佛頭疼了三天,而這村莊的人轉世成了釋迦族,這大魚轉投胎就成了波斯匿王的太子-後來的琉璃王,琉璃王因為當時被人宰殺、烹煮來吃,有這瞋恨的遠因,又有被釋迦族侮辱的近因,所以他就滅了釋迦族。這是因果,絕非偶然。
那時佛陀已經成道了,迦毘羅衛國是他的祖國,釋迦族是他的家族,他想不想救呢?當然想救,可是沒辦法救,業力不可思議嘛!一切法都是因緣生,因果控制一切。這不是用神通力能救的,必定要用功德和解才可以。如果當時村莊裡的人能素口,又怎會感得這個惡報?所以希望大家沒有吃素的就要改口,不要再造這個惡因,否則將來受苦時,再怎樣呼天喊地也沒用呀!
Buddhist teachings state that the Law of Cause and Effect applies to both good and bad karma. As the saying goes, “Karma persists through hundreds of thousands of eons; when causes and conditions come together, one cannot escape their karmic retribution.” The effects of today’s actions are not necessarily felt today, because causes and their effects are not simultaneous events. In other words, if you commit a bad deed today, you will not necessarily experience karmic retribution the very next day, or even in the next lifetime, or in the lifetime after that, or even innumerable lifetimes later. However, you can be certain that the karmic effects will eventually come into play. There are many examples of this, such as the one in this story that I will be telling you.
Our Original Teacher Shakyamuni, the World-Honored One, was born into an Indian royal family. There are four classes of people in India: the highest class is the Brahmana (the priestly class), next is the Ksatriya (the military and political class), then Varisya (the farming, manufacturing and merchant class), and finally, there is the lowest class, the Sudra (or serfs). Shakyamuni, the World-Honored One, belonged to the royal family of Kapilavastu. There was a country nearby called Kosala whose king, Prasenajit, wanted to marry a woman of his same class. He found the Shakya clan and wanted to forge a connection with them through marriage. By that time, Shakyamuni, the World-Honored One, had already left home to become a monk and was leading a peaceful and serene life.
Although King Prasenajit was also from a royal family, the Shakya clan still thought of themselves as the most noble and were unwilling to be associated with him through marriage. However, they did not want to offend King Prasenajit because they were afraid of his great power. Consequently, they chose a female slave from their kingdom to pretend to be a princess and marry him. Although the slave was of lowly descent, she was very beautiful and kind-hearted. Her name was Mallika, and she later gave birth to Prince Virudhaka. This prince not only became the king of Kosala, but he also annihilated the Shakya clan. Shakyamuni Buddha wanted to save them, but because their karma was so heavy, they could not be saved.
Why did King Virudhaka want to destroy the Shakya clan? There was an immediate cause and an underlying cause. The immediate cause was that when Prince Virudhaka was young, he once went to Kapilavastu to learn archery. At that time, the Buddha’s newly built lecture hall was about to be inaugurated. When the prince came to visit, the Shakya clan thought that, as a slave’s child, he would stain their holy ground, so he was told to go home. Workers were then ordered to excavate seven feet of earth from wherever his feet had touched the holy ground, and to replace it with pure soil. After suffering such a humiliation, the prince swore a hateful vow: “When I become king, I shall annihilate the Shakya clan!”
That was the immediate cause, but what was the underlying cause of the Shakya clan’s destruction? It goes back to a time eons ago, to a village that had a large pond. During a time of severe drought and famine, the pond almost entirely dried up, and one by one the fish floated up to the surface, which made it very easy for the hungry villagers to catch them for food. Since there had been no harvest, and the starving people had only roots to eat, how could they have resisted eating the fish? One day, the villagers caught an extremely large fish and displayed it beside the pond, and many people came from far and wide to see it.
At that time, Shakyamuni Buddha was a young child in the village. He had a stick in his hand and had moved to hit the enormous fish three times on the head with it; he was just a child, and it seemed like a bit of fun for him! Later, the villagers killed the fish and ate it, planting the negative cause that ultimately resulted in the retribution they were to suffer at King Virudhaka’s hands. As his karmic retribution for striking the fish, Shakyamuni Buddha suffered from a headache for three days. But the villagers were later reincarnated as the people of the Shakya clan, and the hefty fish they had killed and eaten was reborn as Prasenajit’s son, who later became King Virudhaka! King Virudhaka’s hatred of the Shakya clan came from that time in the distant past when he had been killed, cooked and eaten by the villagers. This underlying cause, along with the immediate cause of Prince Virudhaka’s humiliation by the Shakyas, was what moved him to massacre the entire Shakya clan. The massacre occurred because of cause and effect, and definitely not by coincidence.
When the Shakya clan was facing demise, Shakyamuni Buddha had already achieved Buddhahood, and because Kapilavastu was his native country and the Shakya clan was his home tribe, of course he wanted to save them! But there was no way he could help, because the force of karmic retribution is immutable. The Law of Cause and Effect governs all situations. Supernatural powers cannot arbitrarily save people from karmic retributions; only the cultivation of merits can counteract negative causes. If the villagers had been vegetarian and had not eaten the fish, they would not have had to suffer such a severe retribution. Hence, we hope that everyone who is not yet a vegetarian will change and become one, and not create unwholesome causes anymore. Otherwise, when they suffer the effects of their bad karma in the future, nothing will be able to help them!
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