大鹏金翅鸟

The Great Golden-Winged Garuda Bird

送供养不单单给金翅鸟，也给旷野鬼神众，和罗剎鬼子母吃。旷野，就是很荒凉的地方，有些大树林里住着鬼神。

The offerings are sent out not only to the golden-winged garuda bird, but also to the multitudes of ghosts and spirits in the desolate wilds, and to the rakshasha-ghost mother and her children. "Desolate wilds" refer to very isolated areas, such as some great forests where ghosts and spirits dwell.

又有一个鬼子母，这个鬼子母出现于世时，吃了很多小孩子，她什么也不吃，专门吃初生婴儿，因为她认为初生婴儿的肉，又嫩又香又甜又富营养，比吃其它维他命都有功效。鬼子母自己生了一千个儿子，但是她自己偏偏爱吃小孩子的肉，所以人类都快绝种了。

When the rakshasha-ghost mother came into the world, she had devoured a great many children. She fed solely on newborn infants and refused to eat anything else. She considered their flesh to be tender, savory, sweet, nutri-tious, and much more nourishing than vitamin supplements. The ghost mother had given birth to a thousand sons of her own, but unfortunately, she had a fondness for the flesh of human children. Consequently, the human race was close to extinction.

所以佛再不能不管这件事，于是将鬼子母的最小儿子捉来，放在佛的钵里。鬼子母各处吃小孩子后，回来发现小儿子不见了，就整个世界到处找。她也有神通，知道被佛捉去了，所以到佛那里兴师问罪，说：“你为什么无缘无故把我的小儿子抓去？”

At that point, the Buddha could no longer ignore the situation so he captured the ghost mother's youngest son and put him inside his alms bowl. When the ghost mother returned from her bout of devouring children and found her young son gone, she went searching for him all over the world. Since she was endowed with spiritual penetrations, she became aware that the Buddha had taken her son. She then mobilized her forces and went to accuse the Buddha. "Why did you so arbitrarily take away my little son?" she asked.

佛说：“你现在也知道要你的小孩了，那你出去吃别人的小孩，别人又去向谁要小孩呢？”

"Now you know how it feels to miss your child!" said the Buddha. "When you go and eat the children of others, when they go to get their children back?"

鬼子母说：“我吃小孩子，是为了维持我的生命；你现在把我的小孩抓来，你也不吃，那你要我的小孩干什么？”

"I have to eat those children in order to survive," said the ghost mother. "Now you've kidnapped my child, but what do you want with him, since you aren't going to eat him?"

鬼子母说：“我若不吃小孩子，就没有东西可吃，那我岂不是要饿死了吗？” 佛说：“不要紧，你饿不死的，我叫我的弟子每逢用斋时就分出一部份给你吃，你以后不要再吃人间的小孩子了。”所以从此以后，鬼子母就改恶向善，发菩提心，不食人间的小孩子了。

The Buddha told her, "Just as you want your own child back, others also wish to have their children back. When you eat the children of others, their hearts are filled with grief and pain. From now on, you must never eat any more children." The ghost mother said, "If I don't eat children, I'll have nothing to eat. Won't I starve to death?" The Buddha said, "Don't worry, you won't starve. I shall tell my disciples to offer you a portion of their food when they take their meal. Don't eat children ever again." From that point onward, the ghost mother mended her evil ways and became good. She brought forth the resolve for Bodhi and no longer fed on the children of the world.

to be continued(待续)

一九八二年六月六日开示于万佛圣城

A talk given on June 6, 1982 at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas