ONE
OF THE MEN in Bilalapadaka's neighborhood liked to do charitable deeds. One
day, he arranged to have the Buddha and his disciples over to his house for a
meal. Being a generous person, he wished to give everyone a chance to share the
joy and merit of giving and so invited all of his neighbors to join in, even
the rich but selfish Bilalapadaka.
The day before the
merit-making event was to take place, the promoter of charity bustled from
house to house, happily collecting whatever food his neighbors wished to
contribute toward the meal.
Bilalapadaka, upon seeing
his neighbor going around for donations, softly cursed under his breath,
"What a miserable fellow! Why did he invite so many bhikkhus if he could
not afford to provide for them properly by himself? Now he has to go around
begging!"
When his neighbor came to
his door, Bilalapadaka donated only a little salt, honey, and butter, which
although gladly accepted, were kept separately from what the others had already
given. The rich man was confused and wondered why his contribution was
purposely kept aside. He thought maybe his neighbor intended to humiliate him
by showing everyone how little a man of so much had offered. So he sent one of
his servants to investigate.
Back at his house, the man
took the things that Bilalapadaka had donated and divided them among the pots
of rice, curries, and sweetmeats in order to enhance their flavor. When the
servant reported this to Bilalapadaka, Bilalapadaka still doubted his
neighbor's true intention. So the next day he went to his house with a dagger
hidden under his cloak and planned to kill his neighbor should he utter even a
single word that would put him to shame.
But the man practising
charity said to the Buddha, "Venerable Sir, the alms-food is not offered
to you by me alone but with the help of many others in the neighborhood. Small
or large, each contribution was given in faith and generosity, so may we all
gain equal merit."
Bilalapadaka became ashamed
when he heard what his generous neighbor said to the Buddha, for he realized
then what a great mistake he had committed. He went and asked his neighbor to
forgive him.
When the Buddha heard
Bilalapadaka's words of remorse and learned the reason for them, he said to the
people assembled there, "No matter how small a good deed you may get to
do, don't think that it is not important, for if you habitually do small deeds,
in the long run they will become big ones."
Morale of The Story
"Do not think lightly
of doing good, saying`A little will not affect me.' just as a water jar is
filled up by falling rain, drop by drop, the wise one is filled up with merit
by accumulating it little by little." {Verse 122}
Source : Buddhism for Beginners (Ye Thu Aung)
No comments:
Post a Comment