放生故事之五：一臂易一命

　　AN ARM FOR A LIFE

　　這天風和日麗，天氣真好。來源：www.examda.com

　　It was a clear, sunny day. The weather was beautiful.

　　佛陀正走過一片樹林，忽然他看見一只巨鷹正在追一只鴿子。老鷹正要猛撲鴿子，鴿子認出佛陀，躲到他身邊。佛陀護起鴿子，不讓老鷹抓到。那只老鷹停在附近的一枝樹枝上，說道：“你救了鴿子，就意味著要讓我餓肚子。你真卑鄙!”

　　The Buddha was walking through a forest when he saw a huge eagle chasing a dove. Just as the eagle was about to swoop down and catch it, the dove spotted the Buddha and went to his side for safety. The Buddha protected it from the eagle. The eagle perched on a nearby branch and said, "You can save the dove, but that means you're starving me. You're really mean."

　　佛陀慈祥地說，“告訴我你想吃什么，我都會給你。”

　　The Buddha kindly said, "Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll get it for you."

　　老鷹答：“我想吃肉。”https://ks.examda.com

　　The eagle replied, "I eat meat."

　　于是佛陀拿出一把刀子，從他自己的手臂上割下一塊肉。他把這塊肉給了老鷹， 但是老鷹還是抱怨，“鴿子肉比這多多了。”因此，佛陀又從他的手上割下一塊肉，但是已經(jīng)快切到骨頭了，肉更少了。最后他把整個手臂的肉都割了下來，但是仍然不如鴿子重。

　　The Buddha took out a knife and cut a piece of meat from the flesh of his own arm. He gave it to the eagle, but the eagle complained, "There's more meat on a dove than that." so the Buddha sliced off another piece from his arm, but he was getting down to the bone where there's not much meat. Finally he had cut all the meat off his arm, but there still wasn't as much as the weight of the dove.

　　老鷹問佛陀：“你傷了自己的手臂不后悔嗎?”

　　The eagle asked the Buddha, "Are you sorry you've ruined your own arm?"

　　佛陀回答道：“一點也不。我的使命就是要拯救所有的生靈。我的手上少了一點肉，又有什么關系呢?”

　　The Buddha answered, "I am not in the least bit sorry. My mission is to save all living things. What difference does a bit of flesh off my arm make?"

　　老鷹譏笑道：“說起來好聽。”

　　The eagle sneered, "You're just saying that to sound good."

　　佛陀說，“如果我的話真實不虛，就讓我臂上的肉重新長出來吧。”當佛陀發(fā)了這個誓愿后，他手上的肉重新長了出來，猶如新生。

　　The Buddha said, "If my words are the sincere truth, may my arm grow back as good as new." When the Buddha made this oath, the flesh on his arm did grow back, just like new.

　　老鷹看到后，飛上天空，現(xiàn)出原形：它原來是梵天!他聽說佛陀很慈悲，于是特地來考驗一下佛陀。他向佛陀表達了心底的敬意，然后唱著贊美佛陀慈悲的歌飛走了。

　　When the eagle saw this, he flew up into the sky and revealed his true shape: he was the Emperor of Heaven! He had heard that the Buddha was kind, so he had come to test him. He showed his deepest respect to the Buddha and then flew away, singing great praises for the Buddha's mercy.

　　不久以后，人人都知道佛陀曾刮臂救鴿。

　　Before long, everyone knew that the Buddha had cut away his own arm in order to save a dove.