The Buddha’s Halo
One day, a chief demon from the moor that was very hungry\r\nand thirsty, suddenly came to the gate of the householder. The former saw the\r\nboy, quickly kidnapped the boy and ran away. He intended to tear the boy limb\r\nto limb to solve his hunger. But right after the boy chanted the phrase ‘Homage\r\nto the Buddha’ the demon suddenly became paralyzed. This made the demon lose\r\nall his strength and was not able to reach the boy. But a ferocious fire from\r\nthe cruel eyes of the demon made the boy tremble with great fear. This urged\r\nthe latter uttered incessantly the phrase, ‘Homage to the Buddha’.
\r\n\r\nAs the boy repeated the chant for a long time, the demon\r\ncould not harm the boy to his liking. This made the demon more nervous and\r\nangrier.
\r\n\r\nThanks to His divine ears, He heard the boy’s reciting His\r\nname from afar, He flew to the moor by the super power and rocketed bright\r\nlight halo to protect the boy. The demon saw Him but was never frightened. The\r\nBuddha’s shining halo boiled over with anger and lifted a slab of stone,\r\nattempting to throw it to the Buddha. The Buddha then used a flame-emitting\r\nsamadhi to burn the moor completely. The fire destroyed the deserted moor with\r\nits fierce heatm darting the glogal earth, among which there were innumerous\r\nBuddhas. But the wicked demon did not surrender unconditionally to the Buddha.\r\nAt that time there was Vajadhara, a guardian spirit of the Buddhist order, who\r\nsaw the situation and was extremely angry. He then held a diamond pestle in one\r\nhand and brandished a big and sharp sword in another, directing these weapons\r\ntoward the demon in an attempt to behead the demon. This made the demon so\r\nfrightened that he hugged the boy in his arms and knelt in front of the Buddha\r\nand implored, “The World’s Honoured One! Would you kindly save my life.â€
\r\n\r\nAlthough the Buddha, as a kind father, met someone who was\r\nmore malicious than the demon but knew how to sincerely perform penitence,\r\nalways forgave the guilty person. Vajadhara ordered the demon, “Hey, what are\r\nyou waiting for, instead of taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha? If you\r\nstill don’t do this, I will crush you into dust, do you know it?â€
\r\n\r\nThe demon timorously clasped his hands and respectfully said\r\nto the Buddha, “The World’s Honoured One! I have been living on human flesh and\r\nfresh blood. Now if you tell me to stop these actions, how can I live\r\non?â€
\r\n\r\n“Demon! Don’t worry about that, answered the Buddha. If you\r\ncan maintain my rule of slaughtering, I will naturally order my subordinates\r\nwho will give you enough food from now on until the Dharma ends. That means if\r\nyou rely on my strength, you will be comfortably off.â€
\r\n\r\nHearing that, the demon greatly rejoiced. He immediately\r\nreceived the Three Refuges and the Five Commandments. Then he directed himself\r\nto Vajadhara and said gratefully:
\r\n\r\n“It is thanks to Venerable instructions that I was\r\nable to drink the nectar from heaven and receive the supreme Dharma, so that I\r\nnow may abandon delusion to return to the just.â€
\r\n\r\nThe boy was then liberated and his father, the householder,\r\nheld his son in his chest tightly and asked the Buddha for leaving his home so\r\nas to become a Buddhist monk. From that day on, the householder practiced his\r\nreligion very diligently and improved his faith more and more.
\r\n\r\nFor a long time, the practice of religious self-improvement\r\nhas best been relied on the related person him-/herself. However, with\r\nthick-headed people, there should be an external pressure so that the related\r\nperson may repent and have a strong faith in the religious practice - such a\r\ncase is called “The reverse may increase best accessory-cause.â€
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nTranslated into English by Mr. Hoang Huan,\r\nlayman.
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