為什麼要受持五戒？（中英對照）　宣化上人著

◎ 文殊菩薩的寶珠

◎ ManjusHri Bodhisattva's Precious Pearl

文 殊師利這位菩薩修菩薩行時不打妄語，也不殺生也不偷盜。總而言之，他謹守戒律。由什麼證明他守戒律而不偷盜呢？他有一次對其他的菩薩講：「我從一發心修行 就持不盜戒，所以現在我所有的東西就沒有人偷盜；不單沒有人偷盜，我就是把最值錢的東西放在地上，也沒有人會把它拿去。」

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.”

有的菩薩就不信他的話，就說：「我們要有實地的試驗，實實在在地試驗一下。你把你最值錢的東西拿出來，我們把它放在城門那個地方，因為那兒來回走的人最多了。我們把它放在門的中間，經過三天，如果沒有人拿這個東西，這證明你說的是實在的。」

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.”

文殊師利菩薩說：「好啊！我們就來試試看！」於是他把他最值錢的一個寶珠拿出來──菩薩都有很多寶貝、寶珠的──就放在城門的中間。人們從城外進到城裡來，經過這個城門的人很多，可是經過三天，果然沒有人拿。一般的菩薩都知道文殊師利菩薩守不盜戒是真的。

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.