永远不会太晚 ~ 一个有意义的故事

1
Once upon a time, a king went hunting in a forest.
While hunting, the king was unaware of the hours that passed by.
Soon it was evening time. Then the king realized he had to turn back and
return to his palace.
However, while he was on his way back, darkness set in. Because of the
darkness, the king was unable to find his way home.

从前，一位国王去森林里打猎。打猎时，国王并没有意识到时间已经过去了。
很快就到了傍晚。 然后国王意识到他必须转身返回他的宫殿。然而，在他回去
的路上，天黑了。因为黑暗，国王找不到回家的路。

2
He was quite lost; he wandered around
until at last he came upon a small hut.
The king went and knocked on the door to ask for shelter.
The hut belonged to a poor man
who used to sell coal in the market place.
The poor man welcomed the king very warmly;
he took great care of him. He was very hospitable indeed.
他迷路了。 他四处游荡，终于来到了一间小茅屋。国王去
敲门请求庇护。小屋属于一个穷人曾经在市场上卖煤的人。
穷人非常热情地欢迎国王。 他非常照顾他。 他确实非常好
客。

3
The next day the king was very happy with the poor
man’s hospitality and care.
Before leaving, the king said to the poor man, “You
took great care of me. I am very happy with your warm
welcome. As my thanks and appreciation, I am giving
you a nearby sandalwood forest as a gift.”
第二天，国王对这个可怜人的款待和照顾感到非常高兴。
离开前，国王对这个可怜的人说：“你对我很照顾。 受到
您的热烈欢迎，我感到非常高兴。 作为感谢和赞赏，我送
你附近的一片檀香林作为礼物。”

4
The poor man thanked the king but unfortunately, he did not know
the value of sandalwood. He started to make coal from the
sandalwood and sold it in the market.
Soon he had cut down many trees from the forest, turned them
into coal and sold them in the market. Eventually, only a few
sandalwood trees remained in the forest.

穷人感谢国王，但不幸的是，他不知道檀香的价值。 他开始用檀香木
制成煤炭并在市场上出售。不久，他从森林里砍伐了许多树木，将它
们变成煤炭，然后在市场上出售。 最终，森林中只剩下几棵檀香树。

5
One day, it rained heavily. The poor man was unable to make coal
from the wet wood.
So, he cut down a few branches from the sandalwood trees and
took them to the market.
The sandalwood smell from the branches attracted many
customers and they were willing to pay a lot of money for even a
small branch.
一天，下了一场大雨。 这个可怜的人无法用湿木头做煤。于是，他从檀香树上
砍下几根树枝，拿到市场上卖。树枝散发出的檀香味吸引了很多顾客，哪怕是
一根小树枝，他们也愿意出大价钱。

6
This confused the poor man. He asked one of his buyers
why everyone was willing to pay huge sums of money for the
wood.
The buyer replied, “This is a sandalwood; it is a very
expensive wood. If you have some more wood like this, then
please let me know. I will pay a good amount for it.
这让这个可怜的人感到困惑。 他问他的一位买家，为什么每个人都愿意为木
材支付巨额资金。买主回答说：这是檀香； 这是一种非常昂贵的木材。 如果
你有更多这样的木材，请告诉我。 我会为此付出很大的代价。”

7
The poor man realized that because of his ignorance, he had
wasted the sandalwood by turning it into charcoal which fetched
so little money at the market place.
When the man understood this, he started to repent and cry.
Just then, a monk was passing by; he saw the poor man crying.
这让这个可怜的人感到困惑。 他问他的一位买家，为什么每个人都愿
意为木材支付巨额资金。买主回答说：这是檀香； 这是一种非常昂贵
的木材。 如果你有更多这样的木材，请告诉我。 我会为此付出很大的
代价。”

8
The monk asked the man, “Why are you crying, my friend?” The
poor man told the monk everything. He said he was so ignorant
and stupid.
The monk said to the poor man, “My friend, don't regret. All people
in the world make mistakes, one after another. And some of them
never learnt from their mistakes.”
和尚问那人：“我的朋友，你为什么哭？” 穷人把一切都告诉了和
尚。 他说他是如此无知和愚蠢。和尚对穷人说：“我的朋友，不要后
悔。 世界上所有的人都会犯错误，一个又一个。 他们中的一些人从
未从错误中吸取教训。”

9
“It is better late than never. Let go of your regrets and
remorse. Success and prosperity can come again. You still
have left some sandalwood trees. You can use them wisely. Be
diligent and mindful in your work and good blessings will
come upon you.”
The poor man realized his big mistake but he learned life
lessons from the mistake.
“ 迟到总比不到好。 放下你的遗憾和悔恨。 成功和繁荣可以再次到
来。 你还留下了一些檀香树。 您可以明智地使用它们。 在你的工作中
勤奋和正念，好的祝福就会降临到你身上。”这个可怜的人意识到了自
己的大错，但他从错误中吸取了人生教训。

10
迟到总比不到好 放手吧
He then went back and sowed more and more sandalwood seeds in
the forest. He worked very hard. He took great care of the sandalwood
plants as they grew.
As the months and years went by, the poor man earned more and
more money from selling the sandalwood.; he had prospered in this
sandalwood business. He became a very wealthy man. Ignorance,
mistakes and failure had been transformed into wisdom, care and
success.
然后他回去在森林里播种越来越多的檀香种子。 他工作很努力。 在檀香植
物的生长过程中，他悉心照料。年复一年，这个穷人卖檀香赚的钱越来越
多。 他在檀香木生意上发了大财。 他成了一个非常富有的人。 无知、错
误和失败已转化为智慧、谨慎和成功。

11
 反思的佛法课程
General & Dhamma All people make mistakes.
knowledge is important. Don’t regret but learn from
Ignorance brings the mistakes.
Dukkha. 所有人都会犯错。
一般和佛法知识很重要。 不要后悔，
无知带来苦。 而是要从错误中吸取教训。

With Metta, Diligence and wise

Let go of negative Bro. actions will lead to
thoughts arising from Oh Teik Bin happiness and success.
past things or future
speculation. 勤奋和明智的行动将导致
放下出现的消极想法 从过 幸福和成功。
去的事情或未来的猜测。
12
The End 结束