Dhammapada verse #62
『此我子我財』愚人常為憂。我且無有我，何有子與財？
"Sons have I, wealth have I",
thus the fool is fretful.
He himself is not his own,
how then are sons, how wealth?
☆☆☆
【第62偈的故事】
阿難達是舍衛城中非常富有的人，但卻吝於布施。他常常對兒子牧拉斯里說：「不要自以為有錢，我們不應該花錢，反而要更努力累積財富，否則，財產會日漸減少。」他甚至在屋裡埋藏了五甕的金幣，但直到他去世的時候，也沒有告訴兒子埋藏的地點。
富人死後，往生到離舍衛城不遠的乞丐村。從他投胎的母親開始懷孕起，所有乞丐的收入就減少，他們認為其中一定有個不祥的人，就逐步過濾，最後判斷這懷孕的婦女就是禍首，她於是被驅逐離開村子。後來這婦女生下一個醜陋、人見人厭的兒子。每次她單獨外出乞討，就能得到與從前一樣多的施捨，但若帶著兒子一起乞討時，就什麼也得不到。所以等兒子長大後，她就要兒子單獨外出乞討。當他走到他前世的房子時，他前世的孫子們看見他醜陋的外表時，心生恐懼，就叫僕人把他趕走。
這時候，也在城裡化緣的佛陀看見這件事情，就叫阿難前去請牧拉斯里（乞丐前世的兒子）前來一談。佛陀告訴牧拉斯里，這年輕的乞丐實際上是他前世的父親，但牧拉斯里不相信，佛陀就叫乞丐去挖出那五甕金幣，牧拉斯里這才相信。此後，他就成為佛陀虔誠的信徒。
While residing at the Jētavana Monastery, the Buddha spoke this
verse, with reference to a miserly rich man, named ânanda.
There was once a very wealthy man named ânanda in Sàvatthi. Although he possessed eighty billion, he was very reluctant to give anything in charity. To his son, Målasiri, he used to say, “Don’t think the wealth we have now is very much. Do not give away anything from what you have, for you must make it grow. Otherwise, your wealth will dwindle.” This rich man had five pots of gold buried in his house and he died without revealing their location to his son. ânanda, the rich man, was reborn in a village of beggars, not far from Sàvatthi. From the time his mother was pregnant, the income of the beggars decreased; the villagers thought there must be a wicked and unlucky one amongst them. By dividing themselves up into groups and by the process of elimination, they came to the conclusion that the pregnant beggar woman must be the unfortunate one. Thus, she was driven out of the village. When her son was born, the son proved to be extremely ugly and repulsive. His hands and feet and eyes and ears and nose and mouth were not where they should have been. Terrible looking that he was, he looked like a mud spirit. In spite of this, however, his mother did not abandon him, for great is the love of a mother for the child she has carried in her womb. If she went out begging by herself, she would get alms as before, but if she went out with her son she would get nothing. So, when the boy could go out by himself, his mother placed a plate in his hand and left him, saying, “Dear son, because of you we have been brought to great distress. Now we can support you no longer. In this city meals are provided for poor folk and travelers. Get your living by begging for alms in this town.” As he wandered about in Sàvatthi, he remembered his old house and his past existence. So he went into the house. When the sons of his son Målasiri saw him, they were frightened by his ugly looks and began to cry. The servants then beat him and threw him out of the house.
The Buddha who was on his alms-round saw the incident and asked Venerable ânanda to fetch Målasiri. When Målasiri came, the Buddha told him that the young beggar was his own father in his previous existence. But Målasiri could not believe it. So, the Buddha directed the beggar boy to show where he had buried his five pots of gold. Then only, Målasiri accepted the truth and from that time he became a devoted lay-disciple of the Buddha.
富人死後，往生到離舍衛城不遠的乞丐村。從他投胎的母親開始懷孕起，所有乞丐的收入就減少，他們認為其中一定有個不祥的人，就逐步過濾，最後判斷這懷孕的婦女就是禍首，她於是被驅逐離開村子。後來這婦女生下一個醜陋、人見人厭的兒子。每次她單獨外出乞討，就能得到與從前一樣多的施捨，但若帶著兒子一起乞討時，就什麼也得不到。所以等兒子長大後，她就要兒子單獨外出乞討。當他走到他前世的房子時，他前世的孫子們看見他醜陋的外表時，心生恐懼，就叫僕人把他趕走。
這時候，也在城裡化緣的佛陀看見這件事情，就叫阿難前去請牧拉斯里（乞丐前世的兒子）前來一談。佛陀告訴牧拉斯里，這年輕的乞丐實際上是他前世的父親，但牧拉斯里不相信，佛陀就叫乞丐去挖出那五甕金幣，牧拉斯里這才相信。此後，他就成為佛陀虔誠的信徒。
While residing at the Jētavana Monastery, the Buddha spoke this
verse, with reference to a miserly rich man, named ânanda.
There was once a very wealthy man named ânanda in Sàvatthi. Although he possessed eighty billion, he was very reluctant to give anything in charity. To his son, Målasiri, he used to say, “Don’t think the wealth we have now is very much. Do not give away anything from what you have, for you must make it grow. Otherwise, your wealth will dwindle.” This rich man had five pots of gold buried in his house and he died without revealing their location to his son. ânanda, the rich man, was reborn in a village of beggars, not far from Sàvatthi. From the time his mother was pregnant, the income of the beggars decreased; the villagers thought there must be a wicked and unlucky one amongst them. By dividing themselves up into groups and by the process of elimination, they came to the conclusion that the pregnant beggar woman must be the unfortunate one. Thus, she was driven out of the village. When her son was born, the son proved to be extremely ugly and repulsive. His hands and feet and eyes and ears and nose and mouth were not where they should have been. Terrible looking that he was, he looked like a mud spirit. In spite of this, however, his mother did not abandon him, for great is the love of a mother for the child she has carried in her womb. If she went out begging by herself, she would get alms as before, but if she went out with her son she would get nothing. So, when the boy could go out by himself, his mother placed a plate in his hand and left him, saying, “Dear son, because of you we have been brought to great distress. Now we can support you no longer. In this city meals are provided for poor folk and travelers. Get your living by begging for alms in this town.” As he wandered about in Sàvatthi, he remembered his old house and his past existence. So he went into the house. When the sons of his son Målasiri saw him, they were frightened by his ugly looks and began to cry. The servants then beat him and threw him out of the house.
The Buddha who was on his alms-round saw the incident and asked Venerable ânanda to fetch Målasiri. When Målasiri came, the Buddha told him that the young beggar was his own father in his previous existence. But Målasiri could not believe it. So, the Buddha directed the beggar boy to show where he had buried his five pots of gold. Then only, Målasiri accepted the truth and from that time he became a devoted lay-disciple of the Buddha.
☆☆☆
中文法句出處：《南傳法句經》 了參法師譯
中文故事出處：《法句經故事集》 達摩難陀長老著 周金言譯
