小沙彌遇見劉墉（圖文繪本、中英對照）
Little Monk Meets Yong Liu

To Give

小沙彌對什麼都好奇。秋天，禪院裡紅葉飛舞，小沙彌跑去問師父：「紅葉這麼美，為什麼會掉呢？」

師父一笑：「因為冬天來了，樹撐不住那麼多葉子，只好捨。這不是『放棄』，是『放下』！」

Little Monk was new to the monastery and curious about everything.In autumn, red foliage fluttered in the monastery yard. Little Monk asked Master, “These leaves are so beautiful. Why do they fall?”

Master smiled. “Winter is coming, and the tree cannot hold on to so many leaves, so it must choose. The tree is not giving up; rather, it is choosing to give away.”

冬天來了，小沙彌看見師兄們把院子裡的水缸扣過來，又跑去問師父：「好好的水，為什麼要倒掉呢？」

師父笑笑：「因為冬天冷，水結凍膨脹，會把缸撐破，所以要倒乾淨。這不是『真空』，是『放空』！」

Winter arrived. Curious Little Monk saw elder monks turning over the water barrels one by one. He asked Master, “There is still good water in many of the barrels. Why must we pour the water out?”

Master smiled. “When the water freezes, it will crack the barrels, so we must pour all the water out. We are not depleting the barrels; rather, we are unloading them.”

雪紛飛，厚厚地，一層又一層，積在幾棵盆栽的龍柏上，師父要小沙彌幫忙把盆搬倒，讓樹躺下來。小沙彌又不解了，急著問：「龍柏好好的，為什麼弄倒？」

師父臉一整：「誰說好好的？你沒見雪把柏葉都壓塌了嗎？再壓就斷了。那不是『放倒』，是『放平』，為了保護它，教它躺平休息休息，等雪霽再扶起來。」

A blizzard came, sweeping piles of thick snow onto the junipers. Master asked Little Monk to help him tip the potted saplings over.Little Monk was confused. “Aren’t the saplings doing fine? Why lie them down?”

Master replied sternly: “Who says they’re doing fine? Don’t you see how the snow is weighing them down? By laying the saplings down, we are protecting them, so that they may stand again after the snow. We are not forcing them to fall over; rather, we are teaching them to rest.”

天寒，加上全球金融危機，香油收入少多了，連小沙彌都緊張，跑去問師父怎麼辦？

「少你吃？少你穿了嗎？」師父瞪一眼：「數數！櫃裡還掛了多少衣服？柴房裡還堆了多少柴？倉房裡還積了多少糧食？別想沒有的，想想還有的；苦日子總會過去，春天總會來到。你要放心。『放心』不是『不用心』，是把心安頓。」

The winter was harsh and long, and with a global recession, the monastery’s offering box was running empty. Even Little Monk felt nervous and asked Master what to do.

“Have you been eating or wearing less?” Master replied with a glare. “Go see for yourself, how many clothes are there in the closet? How many piles of firewood are there in the shed? How many bags of rice and grain are there in the barn? Stop thinking about what we don’t have, and think about what we do have. The hard times will pass, and spring will come. You need to trust. This does not mean you stop being mindful; rather, you calm your heart with trust.”

春天果然跟著來了，大概因為冬天的雪水特別多，春花爛漫，更勝往年，前殿的香火也漸漸恢復往日的盛況。師父要出遠門了，小沙彌追到山門：「師父您走了，我們怎麼辦？」

師父笑著揮揮手：「你們能放下、放空、放平、放心，我還有什麼不能放手的呢？」

放，不是放棄、不是放任、不是放恣、不是放縱、不是放逐。

不曾拿起，怎麼放下？

不曾擁有，怎麼放空？

不曾獨立，怎麼放平？

不曾掛念，怎麼放心？

不曾抓緊，怎麼放手？

有收才能放，有放才能收！

Spring indeed arrived, and the thawing snow made for even more blossoms than last year. Worshippers returned, and the offering box became full again. It was then that Master prepared to set off on a long journey. Little Monk ran up to him at the mountain gate. “Master! When you are gone, what are we to do?”

Master smiled and waved his hand. “You have already learned how to give away, to unload, to rest, and to trust. Is there any reason why I should not let go?”

Letting go is not letting alone, and it is not giving up. It does not indulge with abandon, nor does it abandon through rejection.

If you do not pick up, then how can you give away?

If you do not acquire, then how can you unload?

If you do not strive, then how can you rest?

If you do not care, then how can you trust?

If you do not hold on, then how can you let go?

Just as you need to take in order to give, you must give in order to take!