13. MY LAP IS YOUR PERCH

　 Long ago, an old, old hermit lived deep in the woods. He was so kind tha the never killed any living creature.

　 One day he was sitting under an ancient tree. Just as he began to meditate,he felt a gust of wind coming towards him. "That's strange," he thought, and opened his eyes. He saw a little bird sitting in his lap. The bird was not at all flustered to be sitting there. It was quite at home, as if it were perching on a twig.The hermit recited the Buddha Amitabha's name, and said to himself, "So you think my lap is a perch? Well, then, I can hardly refuse you. Amitabha, this is good. This is good."

　 Then the little bird curled up and went to sleep, right there in his lap. The hermit was afraid to disturb its dreams, so he began looking into his own heart,and immediately entered a very deep state of meditation.

　　Much later, he left his mediation state, but the bird was still sleeping soundly.He didn't move, because he didn't want to bother it. He said very quietly,"Amitabha. Just keep sleeping. You can fly away when you've slept your full."

　 Finally, the little bird woke up. It flapped its wings and stretched its legs. It chirped quietly a few times. Then it straightened its feathers with its beak, and flapped its wings a few more times. Only then did it fly away.

　 When it had flown away, the old hermit got to his feet. He watched his little friend until it was out of sight. Then he left the tree and went back to his little hut.

13. 我的膝盖就是你栖身之处

　　很久以前，密林深处住着一位很老很老的隐者。他是那么的善良，从来没有杀生过。

　　有一天他坐在一棵古树下。当他正要开始入定时，一阵风向他吹过来。“真奇怪啊。”他想，睁开了眼睛。他看到有一只小鸟立在他的膝盖上。小鸟一点也不慌 张。它看起来很自在，就好像是栖息在一根树枝上一样。隐士念了一声“阿弥陀佛！”，然后自言自语道，“你把我的膝盖当成栖息的地方了？那好吧，我怎能拒绝 你呢。阿弥陀佛，善哉，善哉。
　
　　然后那只小鸟蜷曲起来，就在他的膝盖上睡着了。隐者担心自己打搅了鸟儿的梦境，所以他开始 观照内心，并且很快入了很深的禅定。

　　后来，他出定了，发现鸟儿还在酣睡。他一动不动，唯恐惊扰了鸟儿。他轻轻地说，“阿弥陀佛，睡吧睡吧。 当你睡够了，你就可以飞走了 。”

　　最后，小鸟醒了。它拍拍翅膀，伸伸腿，唧唧地叫了几声。接着它用喙理了理羽毛，又拍了几下翅膀。然后才飞走了。

　　它飞走后，老隐者才站起来。他看着他的小鸟朋友直到再也看不到痕迹。然后他缓缓地离开古树，走回他的小屋。