Become a donkey in the next life to pay off debts

 

Become a donkey in the next life to pay off debts

 

Chu Sanxing and Agudengba arrived at the bank of the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar. Agudengba unexpectedly saw a stone statue of a monk leading a donkey.

Chu Sanxing said to Agudengba:

The Sumerian civilization and the ancient Indus civilization were thousands of years earlier than the ancient Chinese civilization. From about 3000 BC to 2600 BC, the Aegean region entered the Early Bronze Age. From the Paleolithic Age to the Neolithic Age, Burmese primitive people were active in the vast area stretching from the Arakan River and Chindon River basins in the west, to the Shan State Plateau in the east, from the Kachin Mountains in the north, to the Tanassar Forest in the south. trace. From this, the stone tool culture represented by Padalin, Lepanchipo and Taumagong was born. Stone tools at that time were also more diverse. There are stone adzes, stone chisels, stone hammers, stone mills, flat stone rings, etc. The emergence of a large number of bronze ware is an important step in the transition from the Stone Age to the Metal Age. It is also a manifestation of the improvement of production technology and represents higher productivity than the Stone Age. Bronze weapons are sharper than stone weapons. At that time, tribal leaders all had copper weapons. At the same time, stone or copper objects and artworks, including various statues, also appeared.

Agudengba asked: This statue is a monk. What is the meaning of this?

Chu Sanxing said to Agudengba: Buddhism originated from the Indian subcontinent, and Myanmar is a country that believes in Buddhism. In fact, due to geographical proximity, the customs and national character of China’s Bamar, Dai, Bai and other ethnic minorities have been shaped. All have been greatly influenced by Buddhism. The "Southern Silk Road" is the corridor for ethnic migration. Among the ethnic minorities in the northeast and southeast of Bangladesh today, some of their ancestors may have come from Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet, and Mongolia. This is also true for ethnic minorities in Myanmar, most of whom have adopted the Buddhist faith. It is a pity that after Sima Qian wrote "Historical Records", Chinese civilization became the civilization of the Han Empire, but other ethnic groups were regarded as barbarians and were strangled and exterminated. At the same time, it also denied the penetration and influence of foreign national civilizations on Han civilization, and only emphasized the "contribution" of Han civilization to the world.

In my understanding, Buddhism, which originated from the Indian subcontinent, was introduced to China in the Western Han Dynasty in 2 BC. When Buddhism was introduced to China, it also included astronomical calendar, mathematics, architecture, painting, statues and geographical knowledge. This is also Provided nutrients for the development of Chinese civilization. Buddhism believes in reincarnation and karma. This group of statues of "a monk leading a donkey" actually conveys the retribution story of "if you don't repay your debt, you will become a donkey in the future".

Chu Sanxing began to tell Agudengba the story of "The Monk Leading the Donkey":

A long time ago, there lived a farm family on the banks of the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar. One day, the master Du Sheng dreamed of his mother Xia Erniang, who had died many years ago. The dream was very clear, and Du Sheng had a deep memory after waking up.

The mother in the dream said to him: "When I was alive, I owed Wang's workshop twelve guans, and I owed Chen's workshop 34 guans. Because I always owed money and refused to repay it during my lifetime, I was punished by the underworld after my death, and I was sentenced to be reincarnated in the underworld. The Wang family worked as a donkey to pay off their debts, and later the Wang family sold the donkey that I reincarnated into to the Chen family. The money the Wang family earned from this just offset the money I owed them, and the Wang family's debts were repaid."

The mother in the dream also said to him: "I have been working to pay off my debts since I arrived at the Chen family. I carry wheat every day. The wages I earn every time I go back and forth are only thirty-eight copper coins. Not including today's wages, I still owe them eighteen copper coins." Guanqian, I will have to work for about two more years to pay it off. When I was alive, I buried more than a hundred taels of private money and hid it under the threshold of the hall. You dig out the money and use it Redeem me."

Du Sheng asked his mother in his dream: "How can I recognize you if I look for you?"

Xia Erniang said: "Tomorrow morning there will be a team of mules and horses entering the city from the south gate. The first one is a mule, and then a gray donkey. Behind the gray donkey is the donkey I turned into. And when you come, I will Just look up at you and you will know.”

After Du Sheng woke up from the dream, he felt that this dream was unusual. In order to verify what his mother had said in the dream, he dug under the threshold of the main room at home. He actually dug out silver, and the amount happened to be more than one hundred taels. He firmly believed This dream is the deceased mother asking for help.

So early the next morning, Du Sheng waited at the south gate. Sure enough, a team of mules and horses entered the city carrying wheat. The first one was a mule, then a gray donkey, and the third animal was still a donkey. This donkey Looking up at Du Sheng, this scene was exactly the same as what he had been told in his dream.

Du Sheng burst into tears at that time: his mother was actually reincarnated as a donkey and was working for the creditor's family to pay off the debt. He rushed forward to take the donkey home. The Chen family servant in charge of the mule and horse team said: This is my master's donkey. How can I take it away?

Du Sheng said: This is the reincarnation of my mother. I bought this donkey at the original price. The servant had no right to make the decision, so they started arguing.

They went to the Xiangguan to report the incident. After listening to Du Sheng's narration, the minister felt very strange and reported it to the government. The highest official in the government was Fu Yin, who asked the relevant people and the donkey to come to the court to hear this strange case in person. He ordered his men to pull the donkey over, and he asked the donkey: "If you really know your son, pick up the skirt of his clothes with your mouth."

As soon as Fu Yin finished speaking, the donkey actually reached out and grabbed Du Sheng's lapel. The governor was also surprised and reported this strange thing to the king of Qi.

When King Qi heard about it, he was also very curious and called them and the donkey over. King Qi sat in the main hall and said to the donkey: "If you can put two front hooves on your son's shoulders, I will believe that you are the reincarnation of his mother." As soon as King Qi finished speaking, the donkey really put the two front hooves on his shoulders. The hoof rested on Du Sheng's shoulder.

King Qi was shocked when he saw this scene and sighed for a long time. He then said to Du Sheng, "How about our government pay to redeem the donkey and give it to you?"

Du Sheng knelt down and said, "If the government provides money, I am afraid that my mother's debt will not be repaid and she will have to pay it back in the next life, so I must use my own money to redeem the donkey."

After hearing this, the King of Qi personally ruled that Du Sheng was allowed to pay the Chen family to redeem the donkey.

Du Sheng later built a temple and let his mother's reincarnated donkey live in the temple. In order to better take care of the donkey, Du Sheng became a monk and lived in the temple with his mother.

Under Du Sheng's care, the donkey lived for another two years before dying. After the donkey died, Du Sheng gave him a proper burial.

Later, the temple was destroyed due to the flooding of the Irrawaddy River. But in order to commemorate Du Sheng's mother and son, the locals built this group of stone statues of "monks leading donkeys" to warn future generations that "debts must be repaid."

Chu Sanxing sang a Buddhist song "The Way of Karma is True":

 

When you borrow money from me,

I didn’t say a word of rejection;

When I ask you to pay me back,

But you are prevaricating thousands of words.

 

Relatives and friends borrow money and are unwilling to pay it back.

Just blame yourself for being too stupid;

Lending money to people is too confident,

No IOU is left as proof.

​

Opening your mouth to ask for debt hurts your feelings,

Too embarrassed to go to collect the bill;

People should be honest throughout their lives,

If you are unable to pay back the money, you should confess.

 

My heart hurts every year at the end of the year,

Pay back money and borrow money in a hurry.

There are old people everywhere in the world,

It becomes a bad habit to borrow money and not pay it back.

 

God is watching when people are doing things.

The principle of karma and retribution is true;

Debts in this life have not been paid off,

In the next life, you will transform into a donkey to taste the return.