The world of Tzu Chi June 2021 (Vol.135)

TZU CHI 135 55 * This article is extracted from the book “Master Tells Stories (Vol. 2)”. We do not know if the father was indeed reborn as that sheep. However, he used the excuse of sacrificing the sheep to the tree god as a way to satisfy his own desire, and he thus lied to his family and planted the bad karma of killing. In the end, he not only brought bad karma and worries to his whole family, but he also suffered by being reborn as a sheep. What a high price he paid! And was it really worth it? as just an insignificant dream. After the father passed away, the family still continued the practice of sacrificing one sheep a month to the tree god. One day, the son went to the pen to rope a sheep for sacrifice. But strangely enough, the sheep kept whining and would not budge. The son did not know why the sheep was whining and tugged the rope more forcibly. At that very moment, a monk went by the place and saw what was happening. He called out to the son. “Young man, stop dragging that sheep. Calm down and think for a while. You must realize that we all have to undergo endless reincarnations and there will be no end to killing if we do not stop now. What do you know? Maybe that sheep was your father!” The young man was shocked to hear these words. He took a closer look at the sheep and discovered the animal was shedding tears. The sad expression on the sheep’s face closely resembled the look he had seen on his deceased father’s face in his dream. He hugged the sheep and cried, “Poor father, you have been suffering so!”