阎罗王的五封信

King Yama's Five Letters

 

录自楞严经卷四 From Suramgama Sutra, Book 4

 

有一个人哪，死到阎罗王那儿去，死了去见阎罗王。见阎罗王，他就向阎罗王来辩护啊，来说阎罗王不对。

 

他说：「你啊！(指阎罗王)你真不通人情，你一点都不懂人情。你叫我来见你，你应该给我一封信呀！然后告诉我、让我明白，你再把我叫来呀，我好有个准备。你连一个电报、一封信、一个电话，也不也不通知我，你就把我捉来了，啊！你太没有道理了。」

 

阎罗王就对他讲了，说：「我给你好几封信了，你也不知道。」

 

他说：「我没有收到你的信呀！」

 

阎罗王说：「我给你的第一封信，是你邻居有一个小孩子，一生出来就死了，这是我给你一第一封信。你这么大年纪了，那个小孩子一生出来就死了，你应该觉悟啊！应该修行啊！应该修道啊！」

 

他说：「喔！那就是第一封信吗？那么第二封信呢？」

 

阎罗王说：「第二封信哪？你眼睛，有一个时期是不是花了？看东西看得不清楚了？」

 

他说：「是啊。」

 

答：「对，这是第二封信。」

 

问：「第三封信呢？」

 

答：「你耳朵是不是有一个时候就聋了？」

 

他说：「不错啊！」这是第三封信。

 

问：「那么第四封信呢？」

 

说：「第四封信哪，你的牙是不是都掉了？」

 

他说：「是啊！喔，这是第四封信给我啊，我，啊！这个字我都不认识，我不懂阎罗王这就是信。」

 

于是乎阎罗王说：「这回你还有话讲没有？」

 

他自己一想，果然小孩子一出生就死了，这令自己要觉悟，这也对的。牙也掉了，眼睛也花了，耳朵也聋了，这是给自己送信来的。

 

又问：「那么最后一封信是什么呢？」

 

答：「最后一封信哪，我叫，你这，你看见你头发都白了没有啊？」

 

他说：「看见。喔！这是最后一封信！？」

 

于是乎这个人也没话讲了。

 

阎罗王说：「你吃了这么多肉，好了，投生去做猪去啰！」

 

这回，于是乎他就去做猪了。那么究竟什么时候再回来再做人呢？这就是任何人也不知道的。

  There was a man who died and went to see King Yama.  When he saw King Yama, he protested to the king about his unfairness.

 

He said: "You (the King) are so unreasonable, you don't understand about reasonableness  at all.  You simply called to see me.  But you should have sent me a letter first.  You could gradually tell me and make me realize it, then you would call upon me and let me have a chance to prepare myself.  You didn't send me a telegram, a letter, or even a phone call, you just snatched me here.  You are just too unreasonable."

 

King Yama said to the guy: "I have sent you several letters already, you just didn't realize that."

 

The guy said: "I never received any of your letters."

 

The King said: "My first letter to you was about your neighbor's child, the child died right after birth.  That was my first letter to you.  You are quite senior, but that child was dead right after birth, you should have !  You should have realized!  You should have cultivated!  You should have practiced the Way!"

 

The guy said: "Oh! That was the first letter?! Then what about the second letter?"

 

King Yama said: "The second letter?  About your eyes, wasn't there a time when your eyes got a little blurrier and you couldn't see very well?" 

 

The guy said: "Yeah!"

 

The King said: "Right.  That was the second letter."

 

The guy asked: "What about the third letter?"

 

The king answered: "Wasn't there a time when your ears got a little deafer?"

 

The guys said: "That's right."  That was the third letter.

 

The guy asked: "What about the fourth letter then?"

 

The king answered: "About the fourth letter, didn't all your teeth fall out?"

 

The guy said: "Yeah.  Oh, that was the fourth letter to me?!  I, ow, I couldn't read a word, I didn't know this was what you meant letters."

 

Then King Yama said: "Do you have anything more to say this time?"

 

The guy thought about it for a while:  It was true that the child died right after his birth.  It was meant to make me realize.  It was also true that the my teeth fell out, the eyes got blurrier and the ears had gone deafer.  All of these were the letters to me.

 

Then the guy asked again: "What about the last letter?"

 

The King said: "In the last letter, I told you to see if your hair was gray."

 

The guy said: "I saw it! Oh, that was the last letter?" Then the guy had nothing else to say.

 

King Yama said: "Since you have eaten so much meat, well then, go reincarnate as a pig!"

 

This time, the guy was reincarnated as a pig.  When will he ever be reincarnated back as a human again?  Nobody knows.