To Observe the Five Precepts and Thus Attain Rebirth in Heaven (Part1/3)

 

To Observe the Five Precepts and Thus Attain Rebirth in Heaven
(A Story Recorded in Volume 5 of The Storehouse of Sundry Valuables; 雜寶藏經 卷5)

This story says that there was an elder in Śrāvastī named Fushe who had two daughters. One of them renounced her home to become a monastic and was very diligent and hardworking in her cultivation, thereby attaining the arhat fruition. The other daughter held false views, did not believe in the Triple Gem of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and even slandered them. Fushe told his daughter who did not believe in the Triple Gem, “If you take refuge in the Buddha, I will give you one thousand gold coins; furthermore, if you can take refuge in the Dharma and the Sangha and also receive and uphold the five precepts, I will give you an additional eight thousand gold coins.” This daughter, who originally did not believe in the Triple Gem, thus embraced and took refuge in them and no longer slandered them. She also received and upheld the five precepts. Not long after, her life ended, and she was reborn in the heaven of the desire realm. Remembering that it was because she had taken refuge in the Triple Gem and received the precepts while in the human world that she could be reborn in heaven to enjoy such bliss today, she went to the place where the Buddha stayed to pay her respects. The Buddha taught her the Dharma, and she immediately attained the first fruition of stream-entry.

A monk then asked the Buddha, “By what kind of karmic actions was this heavenly maiden able to be reborn in the heaven of the desire realm after death?” The Buddha told the monk, “This heavenly maiden was originally born in the human world, and although it was out of greed for her father’s money that she took refuge in the Triple Gem of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, she ceased slandering the Triple Gem and simultaneously received and upheld the five precepts. Due to such causes and conditions, she has now been reborn in the heaven of the desire realm. Also, because she remembered the causes and conditions for her rebirth in heaven, she came to me, Śākyamuni Buddha, and after hearing my teaching, she attained the first stage of fruition of the path to liberation.”

    There are some lessons that can be derived from this story and shared with everyone. First, the main character of this story is the second daughter, who had a father who believed in and accepted the Buddha Dharma and possessed wisdom. This daughter, who originally held false views and did not believe in the Triple Gem, later took refuge in the Triple Gem and received and upheld the five precepts under the lure of her father’s hefty reward, thereby greatly transforming her destiny. If she had not taken the Triple Refuge and received and upheld the five precepts at that time, her grave offense of slandering the Triple Gem would have been enough to make her fall into the three lowly paths and suffer in the future. However, her father knew that she was greedy for money and thus lured her with a hefty reward to make her take the Triple Refuge and receive and uphold the five precepts. This changed her views and mental disposition, which allowed her not only to be reborn in the heaven of the desire realm after her life ended but also to have the subsequent causal connection to personally hear the Buddha teach the Dharma and attain the first fruition of stream-entry. (To be con't....)

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