A Presentation based on a Dhammapada Verse and its accompanying story. There are good Dhamma / Life Lessons for reflection. The texts are in English and Chinese. For the Video with audio narration and explanation in Hokkien, please check out the Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfSNBf0Kltk

1. 1
From
The
Dhammapada
Verse
122
从
法
经
第
122
句
Bilalapadaka 的故事，
自私的有钱人

2. 2
One of the men in Bilalapadaka’s
neighborhood liked to do charitable
deeds. One day, he arranged to have
the Buddha and his disciples over to
his house for a meal.
Being a generous person, he wished to
give everyone a chance to share the joy
and merit of giving and so invited all of
his neighbors to join in, even the rich
but selfish Bilalapadaka.
Bilalapadaka附近的一名男子喜欢做
慈善。 有一天，他安排佛陀和他的
弟子到他家吃饭。作为一个慷慨的
人，他希望让每个人都有机会分享
给予的喜悦和功德，因此邀请他所
有的邻居加入，甚至是富有但自私
的Bilalapadaka。
Selfish, Rich man
自私的有钱人

3. 3
The day before the merit-
making event was to take
place, the promoter of
charity bustled from house
to house, happily collecting
whatever food his
neighbors wished to
contribute towards the meal.
做功德活动的前一天，慈善
的发起人挨家挨户地走来走
去，兴高采烈地收集邻居们
希望为这顿饭捐出的任何食
物。

4. 4
Bilalapadaka, upon seeing his
neighbor going around for
donations, softly cursed under his
breath, “What a miserable fellow!
Why did he invite so many
bhikkhus if he
could not afford to provide for them
properly by himself?
Now he has to go around begging!”
Bilalapadaka 看到邻居四处募捐，
小声咒骂道：“真是个可怜的家伙！
如果他自己负担不起，为什么还要
请这么多比丘呢？ 现在他必须四
处乞讨！”

5. 5
When his neighbor came to his door,
Bilalapadaka donated only a little salt,
honey, and butter, which although
gladly accepted, were kept separately from
what the others had already given. The rich
man was confused and wondered why his
contribution was purposely kept aside. He
thought maybe his neighbor intended to
humiliate him by showing everyone how
little a man of so much had offered.
So he sent one of his servants to
investigate.
当他的邻居来到他家门口时， Bilalapadaka
只捐赠了一点盐、蜂蜜和黄油，虽然很高兴
地接受了，但与其他人已经捐赠的东西分开
存放。富人很困惑，想知道为什么故意保留
他的捐款 在旁边。 他想他的邻居可能是想羞
辱他，向所有人展示一个如此多的人提供的
东西是多么少。 于是他派了一个仆人去调查。

6. 6
Back at his house, the man took the things
that Bilalapadaka had donated and divided
them among the pots of rice, curries, and
sweetmeats in order to enhance their flavor.
When the servant reported this to
Bilalapadaka, Bilalapadaka still doubted
his neighbor’s true intention. So the next
day he went to his house with a dagger
hidden under his cloak and planned to kill
his neighbor should he utter even a single
word that would put him to shame.
回到他家，男人拿走了那些Bilalapadaka
将它们捐赠并分配给一锅米饭、咖喱和甜
食，以增强他们的味道。 当仆人向比拉拉
帕达卡报告这件事时，Bilalapadaka 仍然
怀疑他的邻居的真实意图。 所以第二天，
他带着匕首去了他家在他的斗篷下，并计
划杀死他的邻居，如果他连一句话都让他
自愧不如。

7. 7
But the man practising charity
said to the Buddha, “Venerable
Sir, the alms food is not offered to
You by me alone but with the help
of many others in the
neighborhood.
Small or large, each contribution
was given in faith and generosity,
so may we all gain equal merit.”
但行布施的人对佛说：“尊者，供
养的食物不是我一个人给您的，而
是在附近的许多人的帮助下提供的。
无论大小，每一份贡献都是出于信
心和慷慨，所以愿我们都能获得同
等的功德。”

8. 8
Bilalapadaka became ashamed
when he heard what his
generous neighbor said to the
Buddha, for he realized then
what a great mistake he had
committed. He went and asked
his neighbor to forgive him.
Bilalapadaka 听到他慷慨的
邻居对佛陀所说的话感到羞愧
，因为他意识到自己犯了一个
多么大的错误。 他去请求他
的邻居原谅他。
请，
请原谅我！

9. 9
When the Buddha heard Bilalapadaka’s words of remorse and
learned the reason for them, He said to the people assembled
there,
“No matter how small a good deed you may get to do, don’t think
that it is not important, for if you habitually do small deeds, in the
long run they will become big ones.”
佛陀听了 Bilalapadaka 忏悔的话，了解了忏悔的缘由，他对聚集在场的人
们说：“无论你做了一件多么微不足道的善事，不要认为它不重要，因为如
果你 习惯做小事，久而久之就会变成大事。”

10. 10
Do not think lightly
of doing good, saying
“A little will not affect me.”
Just as a water jar is filled up
by falling rain, drop by drop,
the wise one is filled up with
merit by accumulating
it little by little.
Dhammapada Verse 122
不要轻看行善，说“一点点不会
影响我。” 就像一个水瓶被雨水
灌满，一滴一滴，智者通过一点
一点地积累功德而充满功德。法
经第 122 句

11. 11
Don't underestimate goodness. For little by little the good gathers together
like the drops of water in a water pitcher.
Some tend to a view in which they take the good lightly, and that the virtues
practiced do not yield spectacularly good results. But this view is not correct.
The good done by a person accumulates little by little. This process
resembles the way in which falling drops fill a water pitcher little by little.
After the passage of time, the small acts of virtue accumulate until the doer
is completely filled with them.
不要低估善良。 一点一滴，美好的事物像水壶里的水滴一样聚集在一起。 有些人
倾向于认为他们轻视善行，而实践的美德不会产生惊人的好结果。 但这种观点是不
正确的。 一个人所做的善，是一点一点积累的。 这个过程类似于滴落的水滴一点
一点地填充水罐的方式。 随着时间的流逝，这些小小的善行会累积起来，直到行者
完全被这些善行所充满。

12. 12
“Think not lightly of good,
saying, “It will not come to me.”
Drop by drop is the water pot
filled.
Likewise, the wise man,
gathering it little by little fills
himself with good.”
Dhammapada Verse 122
“不要轻看善，说：‘它不会来
找我的。一滴一滴是装满水的锅。
同样，智者，一点一点地收集它
使自己充满美好。”
法经第 122 句
The intention of this Stanza is to stress that wholesome action, however
trifling it may seem, is not to be under-estimated. Since the action yields
results in terms of happiness, even a modicum of good can be helpful.
本节的目的是强调善行，无论看起来多么微不足道，都不能被低估。
由于行动会产生幸福的结果，因此即使是一点点的好处也会有所帮助。

13. 13
聪明的人无论多么“渺小”，都会继续做好事。
我们所做的一切善事肯定会带来喜乐与平安。
The End
结束
With Metta,
Brother
Oh Teik Bin