你看不到我 你看不到我 你看不到我⋯⋯
You can’t see me, you can’t see me, you can’t see me... 😁

【德昭鄰壑 才震四方】(English writing below)
Virtues That Shine, Talents that Astound

拜天公了！

天公，即是三十三天主的玉皇大帝，在佛教裡的帝釋天主。祂總櫃百神，下握七十二地、四大部洲和億萬生靈。

祂原是一位婆羅門的女子。在釋迦牟尼佛之前，有一佛名為「迦葉佛」。迦葉佛圓寂後，這婆羅門女發心，想造塔供養迦葉佛。

有三十二位女子也現前，幫助婆羅門女一起建塔。

造塔有十種殊勝果報：
1. 不生邊國（沒有佛法的地方）
2. 不受貧困
3. 不得邪見愚痴之身
4. 壽命長遠
5. 可得十六大國之王位
6. 可得金剛羅延力
7. 可得無比廣大之福德
8. 得蒙諸佛菩薩之慈悲
9. 具足三明六通八解脫
10. 得往生十方淨土

後來，她們便因造塔功德這善因而升天。婆羅門女成為三十三天主，其他三十二位女子成為三十二天裡的各天主。

最近因為武漢肺炎病毒，鬧得人心惶惶。

做人，不怕窮，最怕笨。可偏偏利益在前時，有的人的腦袋就掉到屁股上了。

（一）
如果這時候，你選擇乘火打劫，賺缺德錢，溫馨告訴你，這錢會讓你和你的後代吃不了 兜著走。因為這是犯了偷盜戒，東西明明不值那麼多錢，可是你故意抬高價格。其因果包括有錢沒命花，疾病連連，或多世的貧困低賤命，子孫後代也一樣。

瘟疫嚴重蔓延，你依然無動於衷，就有草菅人命之罪。你沒有護生，還犯了殺生戒，造了入無間地獄的因。

（二）
如果這時候，你沒查證事實，或故意作亂，散播假新聞，讓眾生有了畏懼恐慌心而失去理智，小心自己種下愚癡的因，沒有明心的智慧，將來自己也會有被人嚇的果，過著提心吊膽的日子。

（三）
還有一種人，在災難時，喜愛動口，什麼事都要挑，缺乏同理心、包容心和耐性。牙尖嘴利的人，最容易犯口業。不要小看口業，人會有口臭、不整齊的牙齒、嘴吧難看、人緣欠佳、家庭失合、事業不振，說的話沒有人相信喜聽，都是口業的果報。

.

其實，人間有災難時，是我們很好修功德的時候。

我們應該向天公學習，有錢出錢，有力出力，有腦用腦，眾善奉行，諸惡莫作。

無論您是如何拜天公，請記得祂當初如何發心護持佛教，利益眾生，而得此尊貴之身。

金銀財寶、佳餚美酒，天上界不缺，甚至比人間還好幾億萬倍

我們人間的這些芝麻綠豆的供品，是天公慈悲才會前來受供。

如果您真心想得到祂的護佑，好好修行，勤於佈施，護持佛教，和祂一樣有護佑天下蒼生之心，您德昭鄰壑時，祂必會庇佑著您，讓您才震四方、財源廣進、閤家安康。

怎麼了？您不知道嗎？一個人特別有本事和才華時，就是因為後面有大天神或佛菩薩罩著啊！ 有的人命之所以會平庸，因為後面「空空如也」啊！

_____________________

Today is the day to pay homage to Tian Gong!

Tian Gong, also known as the Lord of the Trāyastriṃśa (thirty-three) Heavens, the Jade Emperor and in Buddhism, Śakra.

He is the lord of a hundred devas, seventy-two lands, the four dvipas and billions of living beings.

In a previous reincarnation, He was a Brahmin lady. Before Shakyamuni Buddha, there was Kassapa Buddha. When Kassapa Buddha entered parinirvana, this Brahmin lady wished to construct a stupa as a offering to Kassapa Buddha.

32 other ladies joined in her initiative.

Building stupas have 10 karmic rewards:

1. One will not be born in border lands. (where no Dharma is present)
2. One does not suffer from poverty.
3. One will not receive a body of ignorance and erroneous views.
4. One's lifespan is long.
5. One receives the throne of 16 great kingdoms.
6. One obtains the Vajra Indestructible Power.
7. One obtains immeasurably vast and grand blessedness and merits.
8. One receives the compassion of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
9. One has complete three kinds of supernormal awareness.
10. One will be reborn in the pure land.

Because of the virtuous cause from building a stupa, these thirty-three ladies ascended to the heaven. The Brahmin lady became the ruler of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, while the other 32 ladies became respective rulers of the 32 Heavens under it.

The Wuhan virus has everyone in a jittery mode recently.

As a human, one should fear being stupid rather than being poor. Yet when money is placed as a bait, the brains of some people seemed to have dropped right out of the head and straight to the bottoms.

(1)
If at this point in time, you choose to take advantage of this misfortune and make money unscrupulously, let me gently remind you: you are getting more than you bargained for.

This constitutes stealing. The goods you are selling are not worth that much money, but you deliberately raise the prices to fleece off the consumers.

The retribution for stealing will be having to spend your "hard-earned" money on prolonged/frequent sickness, and/or many lifetimes of poverty and lowliness. The same applies to your descendants.

As the epidemic spreads and worsens, should you remain callous, that means you have utter disregard to human life. You do not protect lives but choose to commit the sin of killing lives. This sows the seed for you to be banished to Infernal Hell upon your death.

(2)
If at this point in time, you spread false news without checking on facts, or out of sabotage, causing fear and panic in sentient beings, beware that you have planted the seed for ignorance and lack of enlightening wisdom.

In the future, you will have to undergo the retribution of being frightened by others, and live your days in tenterhooks.

(3)
There is another kind of people who likes to speak recklessly in times of disasters. They pick at everything and anything, lacking empathy, patience and forbearance.

It is very easy for a person with a sharp tongue and little wisdom to commit sins of the speech.

Do not underestimate the karma from that. Its karmic retributions can cause a person to suffer from a stinky breath, untidy teeth, ugly mouth, poor inter-personal relations, disharmonious family, flagging career, and/or lack of credibility and likability in his/her words.

.

When a disaster strikes the human realm, it is a very good time for us to cultivate our merits.

We should take a leaf out of Tian Gong's book - donate money that you have, contribute your physical effort that you can, use your brain that you...erm...have. Do no evil and cultivate all good.

(Oh, come on, if you can read this, you sure have a brain. It's just a matter of whether you have the heart to or not. )

Regardless of how you pay homage to Tian Gong, bear in mind how He generated bodhicitta to uphold Buddhism, benefit sentient beings and hence, obtained a distinguished rebirth.

There is no lacking in gold and silver treasures, delicacies and fine wines in the Heaven realm. In fact, they are a billion times better than what we have here in the human world.

The offerings we give are peanuts, but the Jade Emperor comes forth to receive our offerings out of compassion.

If you truly seek His protection, do your spiritual cultivation well, be diligent in your giving, uphold Buddhism, and have the heart to protect and help the common people, like the Jade Emperor's heart.

When your virtues are so well-known that you win the respect of your neighbours, the Jade Emperor will definitely
bless you with talents that astonish the world, plenty of wealth and a peaceful and healthy family.

Why? Didn't you know? When a person is especially talented and capable, that is because behind the person, there is a great Deva, Buddha or Bodhisattva watching over him/her.

On the other hand, when a person's destiny is very mediocre, that is because behind him/her is just empty space.