Dirty Basin

載不住善法

Rahula, The Buddha’s son followed Buddha’s footsteps and became a novice monk.  Rahula was a teenager when he became a novice monk.  Living in a rather strict environment, he was bored, so he often came up with distractions and amusements on his own.

羅睺羅是釋迦牟尼佛的兒子。後來佛陀出家修道，小小年紀的羅睺羅也跟著出家做沙彌。羅睺羅身處這樣威嚴肅靜的環境，沒有什麼遊樂和玩具可以滿足他，於是他為自己設計一種好玩的遊戲。

One of his favorite games to pass time, was whenever people asked Rahula where the Buddha was, he would always take the chance to trick them by lying to them. If the Buddha was in the forest practicing, he would always say the Buddha was meditating by the river. If the Buddha was at the monastery instructing disciples, Rahula would point in the opposite direction, usually somewhere far away, and tell people that the Buddha had gone out to propagate the Dharma. He took joy in seeing people going everywhere looking for the Buddha. Of course, looking in all the wrong places, they would never find the Buddha. Rahula would then laugh at them, thinking they were so silly. This was how he kept himself entertained.

「請問佛陀在哪裡？」每當有人向羅睺羅詢問佛陀的去處時，他總是向來訪的客人開玩笑，佛陀明明在林下經行，他偏說佛陀在水邊靜坐；佛陀在精舍為弟子們開示，他指著遠處，說佛陀到某地弘法。看著來訪的人東奔西跑的找佛陀，羅睺羅開心嘲笑別人的愚笨。

After the Buddha heard about Rahula’s mischief, he thought of a way to teach him a lesson.  One day, the Buddha asked Rahula to fill a basin with water so that he could wash his feet.
After washing his feet, the Buddha said to him, “Rahula, take this water and drink it.”
Rahula replied, “This water is dirty now after it was used to wash your feet, it’s undrinkable.”
The Buddha then said, “Rahula, your words are as dirty as this water, no one can bear to hear them.”

佛陀知道羅睺羅說謊的行為之後，想到一個辦法來教訓他。有一天佛陀要他拿盆淨水，給佛陀洗腳。洗完腳以後，佛陀就對羅睺羅說：「你把這盆水喝下去。」
羅睺羅說：「洗腳的水很髒，不能給人飲用。」
佛陀說：「羅睺羅，你說的話就像這一盆髒水，別人無法入耳。」

Rahula was now afraid and quickly took the basin outside and threw out the dirty water.
When he returned, the Buddha said to him, “Now, take this basin and put rice in it.”
Rahula frowned and replied, “The basin was just used to wash feet, it’s still dirty, we cannot put food in it.”
The Buddha said, “Rahula, your mind is just like this dirty basin. No matter how good the Dharma is, none of it can enter your mind.” Rahula began to feel ashamed.

羅睺羅很害怕，急忙的把盆裡的水倒掉。佛陀又對他說：「拿這個盆子去盛飯吃吧！」
羅睺羅委屈的說：「洗腳的盆子很髒，不能裝乾淨的食物。」
佛陀說：「羅睺羅，你就像這個髒的盆子，善美的佛法不能裝進你的內心。」

The Buddha looked at the basin and suddenly kicked it. The basin struck the wall and broke into pieces. The Buddha then asked, “Rahula, would you treasure a broken basin?”
Rahula said, “Buddha, a basin used to wash feet is worthless and is of little value. Even if it’s broken, it doesn’t really matter.”
The Buddha replied, “Your attitude is just like this basin. Your words and lies are not valued and appreciated by people. No one will respect you, and no one will care for you.”

羅睺羅感到無比的羞愧。佛陀對著地上的盆子，用腳一踢，盆子隨處滾動。佛陀問：「羅睺羅，你會可惜這個破裂的盆子嗎？」
羅睺羅說：「佛陀，這個洗腳的木盆子是很低賤的東西，不值多少錢，踢壞了也沒有關係！」
佛陀說：「你就像這個木盆，妄言說謊，得不到別人的珍惜，也沒有人會尊敬你，在乎你。」

Upon hearing the Buddha’s teaching, Rahula burst into tears and said, “I am sorry, I promise, I will never lie again. From now on, I will focus on my practice.” After that day, Rahula diligently practiced and eventually became awakened. He was then known as the foremost amongst all disciples for his eagerness for learning.

羅睺羅聽完佛陀的話，淚流滿面，從此不再說謊，專心修道，不久成為密行第一的證果大阿羅漢。

The Buddha used the analogy of the basin to teach Rahula. He was able to skillfully lead Rahula to recognize his bad habits and inspire him to transform himself and realize his true nature.

佛陀教育羅睺羅，用木盆作譬喻，耐心地和孩子一再說明道理，讓孩子重視自我的尊嚴，啟發孩子光明的本性。

This story reminds us not to under-estimate our “bad habits”,  as they are hindrances to the generation of wholesome Dharmas.

這個故事說明了切莫輕視「惡習」。因為「惡習」足以令「善法不生」﹗