(Photo source: Envato)
When the Buddha was still around, there was a small country known as Luo Yi. It was situated in a remote region and the country still practised some outdated customs. For instance, they believed that "good health comes from the blessings of the deities; while illness, in turn, is a form of punishment. As such, sacrifices need to be offered to pray for the deities’ blessing.”
The King's mother, the Queen Dowager was ill. Despite setting up countless sacrificial altars, her condition did not improve. The King then summoned two hundred Brahmins to come together to come up with a solution. One of the Brahmins suggested expanding the scale of the sacrificial ceremonies by slaughtering a hundred cattle, another hundred sheep, and a boy as prayer offerings. The King was very filial and prioritised treating his mother's condition, hence agreed to carry out the proposal.
On the day of the sacrificial ceremony, the King and the Queen Dowager took a carriage to the altar, which was located at an open area outside the city. The two hundred cattle and sheep seemed to sense their imminent fate of being slaughtered, as they wailed continuously along the way. The boy who was selected was also struggling in fright, while his parents who were following behind wept profusely.
When the Buddha heard of this news, he waited to meet the King under a big tree outside the city. When the King saw the Buddha, he bowed respectfully in greeting, explaining that he was on his way to the altar to pray for his mother. The Buddha replied, “If you want to have a good harvest, you need to work hard in the fields. If you hope to be wealthy, you should give more to charity. To gain wisdom, you need to study the Sutra diligently. If you hope to attain longevity, you should then be kind to and protect all living beings. Killing lives in order to achieve good health only accumulates bad karma, hence is foolish. All illnesses have their causes, hence the first step is to understand the root of the problem, then seek the right medical treatment, in order to remain healthy.”
When the Queen Dowager heard the Buddha's words from inside the carriage, a realisation dawned on her. “How could I have cruelly taken so many lives, all for my own benefit? I had almost killed an adorable child!” she thought chidingly. Lifting the curtain of the carriage, she walked towards the Buddha and stood before him with the help of the palace maids. She knelt down and bowed, saying with repentance, “I have been so foolish! Occasional headaches and backaches led me to believe that the gods were punishing me, causing me to look everywhere for shamans to perform sacrifices. Now I have even gone to the extent of killing living beings as sacrifices, only to create bad karma. Upon hearing your teachings, I now know to be compassionate to and cherish all sentient beings as all lives are precious.”
The Buddha blessed her with a smile, “With this heart of great compassion, you will surely receive infinite blessings and experience longevity!” The Queen Dowager brimmed with joy and started to feel happier. Even the ailments that plagued her body seemed to have alleviated, and she bowed to express her utmost gratitude to the Buddha’s teachings.
Most people tend to overly care for themselves and lose the innate nature of great love in the process. Resultantly, they will not hesitate to harm others or kill other sentient beings, which only serves to add on to their bad karma and suffering. Cause and effect are greatly intertwined, hence in allowing great love to be our cause, feeling carefree and joyous will be the result. In order to truly love oneself, one must cultivate pure wisdom and love openly, contributing to the masses with sincerity. This way, blessings and good karma can accumulate naturally.
Translated by Nicole Sim
Share 
