The World Of Tzu Chi(Vol.112)

2019 • 07 54 Buddha spoke to the young man kindly, “Spiritual formation is not as difficult as you think, and abiding by the precepts is not as horrible as you think either. I just want you to be mindful of your actions, words and thoughts.” A young man thought about how Buddha used to be a prince, but gave up his wealth and became Enlightened. Now he is respected by all the people in the world. The young man hoped he could leave home and follow Buddha, so he asked for permission from his parents. They did not want to part with him, but they were Buddhists too. They looked up to Buddha very much, and they also respected the monks. Finally they sent him to Buddha, asking Buddha to fulfil his wish. Buddha accepted him and asked a senior monk to instruct him. The senior monk then informed him about their daily rules and precepts. When the young monk was told to follow the 5 precepts, the 10 precepts, and even the 250 precepts of the monks, he got scared. “A monk has to keep so many rules,” he thought. “If I’m not careful, I’ll break one very easily. I don’t think I can abide by all the precepts, and since I can’t do it, I might as well go back home. I can have a business, get married and have kids, and furthermore I can support the monks too!” When he told the senior monk about his decision, the old man felt uneasy. Buddha had entrusted him to look after this novice, but now the young man wanted to go home. The senior monk did not know what to do, so aster Cheng Yen Tells Stories AMonk Learns to Follow the Precepts he told the young man, “Of course, you can return home, but you must tell Buddha about your decision.” The senior monk then went with this young man to see Buddha and inform Buddha about his decision. Buddha asked him, “Why are you going home when you only just become a monk?” “Everyone here must abide by the precepts, but there are so many of them,” the young man replied frankly. “I’m afraid that if I break one, I’ll dishonour the order of monks. Wouldn’t that be awful? So I want to go home and find a job, and this way I can help support the monks.” “You’ve changed your mind just because you heard so many precepts?” Buddha said. “Why do you have such a weak will?” Buddha turned to the senior monk. “Why did you scare him by telling him so many precepts all at once? You should teach him gradually. Let me talk to him.” The young man felt much better. Buddha spoke to him kindly. “Young man, spiritual formation is not as difficult as you think, and abiding by the precepts is not as horrible as you think either. Just forget about all those precepts and follow the three that I’m going to tell you now.” The young man heard that there were