The Monk Who Overslept
2017-11-11


The Monk Who Overslept
 
Buddha Shakyamuni often taught his disciples to study Buddhist doctrine attentively and wholeheartedly, and that they must not slack off or be lazy. Most of his disciples followed his teachings and cultivated diligently, and therefore obtained the Dao and reached their Attainment Status while eliminating a lot of worries and suffering.
 
However, there was one monk who simply was not diligent. Whenever others practiced meditation, he would just go to sleep. His fellow disciples tried to reason with him, but he would not change.
 
The monk's greatest weakness was oversleeping. Every day he would to go sleep after he ate a meal. When he slept, he kept his door closed tightly and slept alone in his room. No one could wake him up, no matter how hard they tried.
 
One day at noon, after begging for food on the street, the monk came back carrying his alms bowel. He went straight to his room and fell asleep. The snoring from his room could be heard till the next morning.
 
The next morning, it was time for Shakyamuni to teach the Buddha Fa to the public. Every disciple was present, except the monk who liked to sleep. Shakyamuni asked, "Why doesn't the disciple who likes to sleep come?"
 
A disciple quickly stood up and replied, "Buddha, he has been sleeping since noon yesterday. We could not wake him up no matter what we tried."
 
Shakyamuni remembered that the monk only had seven days to live. If he died while sleeping all the time, his death would bring him unhappiness. Shakyamuni had great pity for the monk. He instructed his disciples to recite a scripture and took Ananda with him to see the monk in his room.
 
They could hear the thunderous snoring before they reached the monk's room. They opened the door only to hear even louder snoring. The monk was still in bed in a deep sleep.
 
Ananda called the monk's name a few times, but the monk did not respond and continued sleeping. Then, Shakyamuni walked to his bed and gently shook him. The monk immediately woke up.
 
Upon seeing Shakyamuni standing before him and gazing at him with compassion, the monk immediately got up and bowed to Shakyamuni, saying, "Revered Buddha, please forgive me for being disrespectful."
 
Shakyamuni said to him, "You only have seven days to live. I cannot bear to see you die while sleeping so much and failing to reach an upright Attainment Status. I'm here to wake you up."
 
The monk was shocked. It had never occurred to him that he might only have seven days to live. He was frightened and did not know what to do.
 
Shakyamuni comforted him and said, "It is predestined for you. Several lifetimes ago when you were a monk, you indulged in food and sleep and never pondered the meaning of the Fa. You did not follow the Buddhist's precepts. You did not sow any blessings or virtue, therefore you reincarnated as a rice worm for 50,000 years. Then, you reincarnated as a snail, a mussel, and a moth for 50,000 years each.
 
"In your previous lives you liked to live in dark places without light, and you treasured your body and life very much. What's more unusual is that all four different beings were fond of sleeping and could sleep for over 100 years once they fell asleep. You did not try at all to be diligent. After 200,000 years you were finally able to repay the sin you had committed. Then, you reincarnated as a human and became a monk.
 
"Now that you have become a monk you should cultivate and study diligently to make up for what you previously lost. I did not expect that you would still be so attached to food and sleep like you were 200,000 years ago. Why do you always feel like you do not get enough sleep? Don't forget the consequences you suffered 200,000 years ago."
 
Shakyamuni stopped talking. The monk blushed from shame. He quickly repented to Shakyamuni. When he criticized himself deeply and repented, all his distracted thoughts disappeared. He was able to attain the status of Arhat by the end of his life.
 
There are only 24 hours in a day. People usually say that time passes by in the blink of an eye. The average person sleeps eight hours a day. People who oversleep may end up spending most of their time in sleep and dreams and therefore accomplish very few major tasks in a lifetime. Several decades pass by quickly in the human world. You'll indeed regret it if you do not firmly seize the opportunity. Sometimes you feel like life is long, but you don't know when death will take you. By that time, you will not have done a good job completing the tasks you were supposed to do and the missions you were supposed to fulfill. Even worse, you may not have made the effort to do those things at all. Nothing will help, no matter how regretful you feel. Do you really want to become a sleep worm in your next life?
 
贪睡的比丘
 
佛陀常教导他的弟子们在学习佛法时要认真,要用心,绝不能懈怠、懒惰。大多数弟子都遵从佛陀的吩咐,勤奋修行,很多弟子因此得了道,证得了果位,消除了许多烦恼和痛苦。但是有一个比丘,就是不肯用功,每当别人在打坐修行时,他却呼呼大睡。他的师兄弟们劝了他好几次,他还是照样我行我素。


这个比丘最大的毛病就是嗜睡,每天吃饱就睡,睡觉时还将自己的房间关得死死的,一个人在房中蒙头大睡,别人怎么叫都叫不醒。
 
这天中午,嗜睡的比丘托钵乞食回来后,便回到自己的僧房倒头大睡。他这一睡就没有起来过,僧房中如雷的鼾声一直持续到第二天。
 
第二天上午是佛陀为大众说法的日子。所有的弟子都来了,唯独缺那个嗜睡的比丘。
 
佛陀问:“那个爱睡觉的弟子怎么没有来呢?”
 
一个弟子急忙站起身来回答:“佛陀!他从昨天中午睡到现在还没有醒过来,我们怎么叫他都叫不醒。”
 
佛陀心中想起,这个爱睡觉的比丘从今天算起只剩下七天的寿命了,如果让他这样在昏睡中死去的话,他是得不到善终的。佛陀非常怜悯他,所以先让弟子们诵读经文,自己带著阿难前往贪睡比丘的僧房去。
 
佛陀和阿难还没到,远远就听见雷鸣般的鼾声,一阵接著一阵,一阵高过一阵。推开房门后,鼾声更大了,那位比丘依然蜷缩在床上,睡得正香。
 
阿难先叫了几声,可是比丘毫无反应,依然睡著。后来佛陀走到比丘床前,用手指轻轻摇了摇比丘的身体,这个熟睡的比丘马上醒了过来。
 
比丘见到佛陀正站在自己面前,慈爱的俯视著他,急忙起身向佛陀顶礼,说道:
 
“尊敬的佛陀,请原谅弟子无礼。”
 
佛陀告诉他说:“你只剩下七天的寿命了,我不忍心见你在昏睡中死去而得不到正果,所以特地来叫醒你。”
 
这位比丘大吃一惊,他根本没想到自己只剩下七天的寿命,他又惊又怕,不知所措。
 
佛陀安慰他说:“这是你命中注定的事。好几世以前,你出家做比丘,却只知道吃和睡,从来不思维法义,也不遵守佛法戒律。因为没有种下任何福德,命终后投生成米虫,就这样过了五万年,然后又投生为田螺、蚌和树干中的蠹虫,前前后后各过了五万年。
 
你前身所投生过的生命都喜欢住在昏暗没有光亮的地方,而且非常爱惜自己的身体和生命,更特别的是这四种生命都喜欢睡觉,一睡就是一百多年,完全不懂得求上进。经历了二十万年,你才赎清前世的罪孽,所以今生能够投胎为人,并且出家做了比丘。
 
既然做了比丘就应该勤苦修行,认真钻研,弥补遗憾。没想到你又像二十万年前一样贪吃贪睡,为什么你总是睡不够呢?可别忘了二十万年前你的前身的结果呀。”
 
佛陀讲完这些话后,就停住了口。比丘听了佛陀的话,羞惭得满脸通红,连忙向佛陀表示忏悔,就在他深深自责、忏悔的时候,一切杂念都随之消除了,并且在最后的生命里修得了阿罗汉果。
 
我们的一天只有二十四小时,人们常形容眨眼之间就过去了,一般人每天要保证八个小时的睡眠,那么嗜睡的人,可能这一生没做几件大事情,大部份时间都在睡觉和做梦中度过了。人在世间几十年真的很快,如果不抓紧真的要后悔的。有的时候你觉得人生很漫长,可是你却不知道死神说不定哪一天就会降临?那时你想要做的事情,你应该完成的使命,你都没有很好的完成,甚至并没有为此而付出努力,多么痛悔也于事无补了,难道下一世真的要做睡虫吗?

 
    来源: 看中国 责编: Kitt

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