The Beggar and the Millionaire

乞丐和富翁的故事

(originally in English)

There once was a beggar, and in his home town there lived a millionaire. But that person was very, very stingy! So everything he had, he stuck somewhere in a cupboard or dug a hole in the earth and hid. No one, not even he , knew where it was. In this way, he didn't have to spend!

从前有个乞丐，在他的镇上住着一位很有钱的富翁，但是这个富翁非常、非常吝啬，他把所有的财物都锁在柜子里，或挖地洞藏起来，没有人知道藏在哪里，甚至连他自己也搞不清楚 ，这样他就不会把它花掉！



So he was very, very stingy! He never gave anyone a penny, not to mention refugees or the Red Cross; he didn't even want to hear about such things. He wanted to keep his money intact. As for spending in the home, he was also very, very expert in stinginess. So his wife, his children, his mother, his brother, his sister - everyone - was miserable.



这位富翁非常非常吝啬，不曾布施过一毛钱，更不用说捐钱给难民或红十字会，他不想听这种事，他只想把他的钱原封不动地保存下来。对于家里的开销，他也非常、非常地精打细算，所以他的太太、小孩、母亲、兄弟姊妹，每个人都很不开心。



Then one day a beggar came to the millionaire's door and wanted a piece of gold from him. The millionaire had a lot of gold, but of course, he kicked the beggar out and also told his workers and family to throw him out.



有一天，那位乞丐来到富翁家门口，向他乞讨一块金子。富翁有一大堆金子，但是，当然他把乞丐赶走，并吩咐工人和家人把他丢出去。



The next day, however, the beggar came back again and wanted the same thing, a piece of gold. So the millionaire once again kicked him out. But the beggar came back again yet another day - and again and again, day after day, month after month, year after year. He really practiced patience!

第二天，乞丐又来了，还是一样向富翁乞讨一块金子，富翁又把他轰出去。没想到隔天他又来了，他一而再、再而三地每天都来，月复一月，年复一年，他真的在修忍辱喔！



Year after year it went on like this until one day the millionaire was so fed up with the beggar that he finally cut a piece of gold, a very small one, and gave it to him. (Comments that we should learn from this story: Whatever we want to do, we should persist in, and maybe we'll succeed!)



就这样年复一年地过去了，有一天富翁实在受够了那个乞丐，终于施舍了一小块金子给他。（评论：从这里我们学到一件事，那就是无论做什么事，都要持之以恒，很可能就会成功！）



Then the beggar became very, very happy. He jumped around and sang "Hallelujah!" And then he took the piece of gold to his bosom and went back to his place and went to sleep. He put his piece of gold next to him, on top of his meditation cushion, and went to sleep.



乞丐高兴极了，手舞足蹈，高唱哈利路亚，然後把金子揣在怀里，回到他的地方睡觉。乞丐将金子放在身边的坐垫上，然后倒身入睡去了。



But when he woke up, it wasn't there anymore. Of course! Maybe another person had thought it was a play toy and brought it home with him or he left it alone and someone else took it, but he didn't know who. Because the beggar just slept anywhere: in front of the supermarket, under a bridge, in front of the theater, in an empty field, anywhere! So if he put his piece of gold there, people could just take it away. Then the next day he went back and requested another piece of gold from the millionaire.



当乞丐醒来以后，发现金子竟然不见了！当然啦，也许别的人以为那是玩具，就把它带回家，或是他随便放，不晓得谁把它拿走了。因为乞丐四处流浪，有时睡在超级市场门口，有时睡在桥下，有时睡在戏院前面，有时睡在空旷的野外，如果他把金子随便放，就会被人拿走。



And the millionaire asked, "But why? I just gave you one yesterday. What did you do with it?" So the man said, "Yes, yesterday I had it. I put it beside me, and I just closed my eyes, and when I opened my eyes, it was gone. So today I have to come back again for another piece."



第二天，他又去向富翁要一块金子。富翁说：「怎么啦？我昨天才给你一块，你把它拿去哪里了？」乞丐说：「是啊！昨天你给我一块，睡觉时我把它放在身边，但是当我醒来时，发现它不见了，所以今天只好再来向您要一块。」



When the millionaire heard this, he immediately became enlightened! He realized the truth about the things of this world: Today you have them; tomorrow you don't. Or you might have them now, but later you don't. He suddenly somehow became enlightened about the detachment that we should have concerning all possessions in this world.



富翁听了之后，突然马上开悟了，他了悟到这个世界的东西很无常：今天有，明天就没有了，或现在有，等会儿可能就没有了。他茅塞顿开，不再执着世上的财产。



And after that, he changed his behavior. He began to give in charity to people and to live a very normal, relaxed life. He didn't cling to gold or money anymore.



从此以后，他的行事为人改变了，开始行善布施，过一个轻松、正常的生活，不再执着金银财宝。
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