u/Antique_Forever_4840

The Drunkard and the Ghosts

In the Province of Sichuan, China there was a man who stayed by the river side.

One day while he was at home, he heard some voices from the river. He went out to take a look and saw two ghosts were talking on the river.

What were these two ghosts talking about?

One ghost said, ‘Tomorrow afternoon a drunkard will come to drink water by the side of the river. Then we can pull him down so that he will be drowned, taking over our place.’

The man heard this but he was not sure if this would really happen.

Anyway, they are only the ghostly speech!

True enough, the next day, a man came to the river side. He looked like a drunkard as he was walking unsteadily towards the river. He squadded down and took a sip of water.

The Sichuan man tried to call him to be careful but he was quite a distant away. The drunkard could not hear him.

But after drinking the water he stood up and left. Nothing happened.

He was wondering why the ghosts did not catch hold of him. At night again he heard the ghosts were talking.

They were discussing the incident in the afternoon, the reason why they could not catch hold of the drunkard.

In fact, the two ghosts had already planned to pull him down while he was drinking. But they did not expect the drunkard was drinking the water this way.

He took a sip of the water and exclaimed,

‘Namo Amituofo, the water is really sweet! Namo Amituofo the water is truly nice….’

So, he repeated Namo Amituofo while drinking the water.

Suddenly there was a light that separated the ghosts from the man and they were unable to go near him.

The drunkard walked away safely.

So, do you see the efficaciousness of Namo Amitabha Buddha?

I would like to ask you some questions.

Is this drunkard a man who is clear minded? The answer is no. Yes, he is reciting the Buddha’s Name but he is not in Samadhi, neither has he cut off false thoughts, do you see?

He only recites without much mindfulness. Besides he recites Namo Amituofo just because the water is delicious! What is more he is all drunk!

In brief, he cannot even uphold the five precepts.  In the five precepts, he is not supposed to drink wine.

Yet as he was reciting the Buddha’s Name, Namo Amituofo came forth to rescue him.

That is why the Great Master Shandao who is the transformation body of Amitabha Buddha, the Patriarch of the Pure Land Sect said,

‘Amitabha Buddha will appear when we recite his Name.’

It means Amitabha Buddha will come forth when we recite his Name.

It means wherever there is the recitation of Amitabha Buddha, Amitabha Buddha will be there.

It does not matter if we are reciting His Name wholeheartedly or with dispersed thoughts, reciting seriously or accidentally.

All these are counted as nianfo-Buddha recitation.

As we have known, this man, the drunkard recited the Buddha’s Name accidentally, in a confused manner.

But anyhow he had recited Namo Amitabha Buddha.

That is why Amitabha Buddha gave him the protection, saved him from disaster.

So, my dear audience, do not treat this Name Namo Amitabha Buddha lightly, treating them like common words.

A Dharma Talk by Venerable Dharma Master Shi Jing Ben – title: the Ghosts and the Drunkard

Waking up in the morning, I lie there quietly, breathing peacefully, reciting Namo Amitabha Buddha in silence. Life is indeed very simple.

Outside the window, the icy wind howls by, with the night temperature falling as low as minus four degrees. The windows with the gaps cannot be closed tightly. As such the howling sound of the wind is enhanced. The room is indeed very cold. But all these do not really affect me. Let the wind roar and howl by. I will only lie there quietly, breathing and reciting Namo Amitabha Buddha.

In life, we just need a bed, a breath and Amitabha recitation.

Happiness is just to have a bed, a breath and Amitabha recitation.

The thing we need is a bed. That is enough.

The body can live on with one breath. That is enough!

Our mind needs Amitabha recitation. That is enough!

Is not it very happy to have a life of fulfilment! Happiness is very simple. It is so simple as everything is already there. We do not need to chase after anything. As long as we do not forget them, do not cover them up, they are there.

When I think of my death, I feel so blessed. I only need a bed. If there is no bed, I will just lie on the ground. I will lie there and breathe, reciting Namo Amitabha Buddha. When there is no more breathing, I would have returned to the World of Ultimate Bliss. Even in this present moment, I feel I am so blessed. It is most pitiful to see people who are working from day till night without any knowledge about Amitabha Buddha. They even forget about their breathing. They cannot even stop down for a moment. Even though they have a bed, it seems not existing. Such a man has already fallen into the deep pit of sufferings