The World Of Tzu Chi(Vol.113)

TZU CHI 113 55 caused by the fury of the fire in the mind. Recently, there was a shocking story. One day, a homeless wanderer got drunk and had a quarrel with an 11-year-old boy, during which the homeless man kicked the boy once. The youngster felt that he had been mistreated and wanted to get revenge. So he found three junior high school students who always skipped school and told them that he had been bullied and beaten. He told them that he was angry and hoped that they could help him get even. The four of them went to look for that homeless person, and at one o’clock in the morning they found him, still dead drunk. They got some sticks and rocks and started to beat him on the head. Of course, the homeless person tried to defend himself, but he was no match for the four of them and he finally died from loss of blood. In the morning, some workers discovered the body and reported it to the police. The police worked hard to find out who did it. Someone said that a youngster had had a quarrel with the dead man. Following this lead, the police caught the truant junior high school students, and from them they found the instigator. The main culprit of this incident was an 11-year-old! He and the three 14-year- old youngsters created such a tragic, cruel incident. When the police asked him if he regretted what he had done, he answered that it was too late to regret it. He was frightened by the results, but it had already happened. Their parents were shocked and sad, unable to believe that their children could kill anyone. How could something like this happen? It was because of the fire of anger and the fire of delusion, both created by unhealthy minds. So Buddha said, “Human eyes burn, the ears burn, the nose burns, the tongue burns, and the mind burns. The fire of greed, the fire of anger and the fire of delusion are burning.” All of these are capable of destroying us, so we must always be alert. * This article is extracted from the book “The Master Tells Stories”.