◎ 文殊菩萨的宝珠

◎MANJUSHRI BODHISATTVA'S PRECIOUS PEARL

文殊师利这位菩萨修菩萨行时不打妄语，也不杀生也不偷盗。总而言之，他谨守戒律。由什么证明他守戒律而不偷盗呢？他有一次对其他的菩萨讲：“我从一发心修行就持不盗戒，所以现在我所有的东西就没有人偷盗；不单没有人偷盗，我就是把最值钱的东西放在地上，也没有人会把它拿去。”

While Manjushri Bodhisattva was practicing the Bodhisattva Way, he never lied. Nor did he commit any offense involving killing or stealing. In general, he upheld the precepts strictly. How can we prove that he followed those rules and never stole things? Once, he told the other Bodhisattvas, “Ever since my initial resolve to cultivate, I have held the rule of not stealing. Therefore, my belongings will not be stolen by anyone. Not only will no one steal from me, even if I leave my most valuable possession out in the open, no one will walk away with it.”

有的菩萨就不信他的话，就说：“我们要有实地的试验，实实在在地试验一下。你把你最值钱的东西拿出来，我们把它放在城门那个地方，因为那儿来回走的人最多了。我们把它放在门的中间，经过三天，如果没有人拿这个东西，这证明你说的是实在的。”

Some Bodhisattvas didn’t believe him and said,“We would like to test your claim with an experiment. Leave your most valuable thing at the city gate, which is the busiest place. Leave it there for three days. If no one picks it up that will prove that your statement is true.”

文殊师利菩萨说：“好啊！我们就来试试看！”于是他把他最值钱的一个宝珠拿出来──菩萨都有很多宝贝、宝珠的──就放在城门的中间。人们从城外进到城里来，经过这个城门的人很多，可是经过三天，果然没有人拿。一般的菩萨都知道文殊师利菩萨守不盗戒是真的。

Manjushri Bodhisattva agreed to try the experiment. Thereupon, he put his most precious pearl--all Bodhisattvas possess many precious and valuable things--at the city gate. Many people passed through the gate in the next three days and sure enough, no one picked it up. The other Bodhisattvas then knew that Manjushri Bodhisattva had truly upheld the precept against stealing.（待续 To be continued）