A Bettor Beseeches Buddha

By An Lifang

A gambler lost his entire estate and even the shirt on his back.The only thing he had left was the belt on his waist.His wife had long ago packed up everything and taken the kids with her.Yet,he refused to change.He had gotten the fever,and the only thought clanking around in that otherwise empty noggin on his of was making back everything he had lost.

There is an oft-repeated rhyme that can be used to perfectly describe our gambling antihero:

Those slipping breeches make you tighten the belt,you’re bleeding cash with the bad hand you’re dealt

Don’t pack it in don’t hang fromthe noose,for today’s bankruptcy is tomorrow’s golden goose.

Gamblers all have the same sick and twisted mindset,they are afraid of missing out on the next jackpot,so they will never ever repent...unless that is,they do finally bleed their bank accounts dry and have no choice but to change.

Then the day came when our antihero actually lost it all.He didn’t even have a roof over his head.The only thing he could do was head down to sleep at the nearest Buddhist temple—a sacred place to worship Buddha.

As he arrived at the temple,he couldn’t help thinking that he had just had an awful run of bad luck at the casinos and that any minute now his luck would turn around.Though he was not a praying man,the reverent atmosphere of the temple struck him to the core.He dropped to his knees and prayed to Buddha to turn things around and bring his luck back to him.

賭徒不僅輸光了家產，連老婆孩子也離開了他。除了腰上僅有的一根繩，什么都沒有了。但他仍然不死心，繼續賭，想把輸掉的再撈回來。

有幾句順口溜，正是對賭徒的寫照：

腰桿上系根繩，天天輸死個人。

本想去吊頸，又怕明天會贏。

賭徒正是懷有這種心態，因此，除非最后走上絕路，他們是不會悔改的。

輸掉一切的賭徒，已沒有安身之所了。他只好去寺廟和菩薩擠在一處睡覺。

到了廟里，他忽然想到：我這段時間火氣、運氣都如此倒霉透頂，何不求求菩薩保佑，讓我從此交好運？于是，他雙腿跪到菩薩面前，聲淚俱下：“求菩薩大發慈悲，保佑我這可憐人，讓我贏一次吧！”說著，哭著，他不知不覺地倒在菩薩腳下睡著了。

他夢見菩薩說話了：“你平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳。哪有你這種人！”

賭徒連忙說：“只要你保佑我贏一次錢，我愿意每天給你打掃頭上、身上的雀鳥糞便！”

菩薩說：“你能誠信做到，我保佑你明天會贏。”

賭徒從睡夢中醒來，發現天已大亮。想起夢中菩薩許諾的話，他立即替菩薩打掃干凈頭上、身上的鳥糞。他相信神靈的話，又去借錢下賭注。這次果然贏了。贏了錢他又開始大吃、大喝、豪賭，把承諾給菩薩的事忘得干干凈凈。

菩薩又給他托夢，指責他沒有誠信，決心收回慈悲。

He prayed in a pitiful,sobbing voice,“Dear Buddha,I beg you for mercy on me.I’m in dire straits.Oh,let me win just one game,just once more! Please!” The tears fell,his voice swelled,there was wonky wailing and nasty gnashing of teeth until he tuckered himself out and fell into a deep sleep at the statue of the Buddha’s feet.

As he slept,he dreamed of being rebuked by the statue,which stood over him and spoke in a deep,booming voice,“You never come to the temple to pray but in times of trouble! And now you throw yourself at my feet and beg for mercy? What kind of a man are you?”

The gambler promptly replied,“But if you could just bless me with a win,I would scrub the bird droppings from your head and robes daily,oh holy Buddha!”

At length Buddha spoke commandingly,“If you are able to keep your promise in good faith,then tomorrow I shall bless you with a win.”

The gambler abruptly awoke from the dream.Daylight peeked its radiant face into the once dark chamber in the form of a glowing aura around Buddha’s head,which the gambler took as a sign.He thought of the promise he had made in the dream and promptly grabbed a rag and broom and began furiously scrubbing the statue until every last trace of guano was removed,leaving it pure and untainted.

In a leap of faith,the gambler went to the local loan shark to borrow money.Then he went offto the nearest casino.He plunked every coin down the mahjong table,and all of a sudden,all his wishes came true.After just a few rounds,the gambler had struck it rich.His troubles were far behind him!

It didn’t take long for the newfound wealth to go to the gambler’s head.He began wining and dining.Flashing cash.Indulging in sin and wallowing in vice.Meanwhile,his promise to Buddha was forgotten as clean as the statue after it was scrubbed down.

Once again Buddha appeared to him in a dream,rebuking him for breaking his promise and warning that all he had got would be gone.

The gambler did lose everything the next day.

Sloshed and sobbing the gambler galumphed into the temple,fell to his knees,and prayed,“Dear Budda,if you bless me with another win,I promise to furnish you with a glorious new robe!”

Buddha reappeared to him that night in a dream.Only this time with a condition:make good on the promise first before the win could be granted.

The problem was,the gambler didn’t have a coin to his name.He had no choice but to use what he had on hand.He tore open all the debt books for his mountain of debt,cannibalizing them to make a robe for his cause.Finally,he sheepishly outfitted the statue with the robe and crossed his fingers hoping Buddha would grant him yet another miracle.

That night Buddha appeared to the gambler in another dream in which Buddha rebuked him vehemently,“You are an odious and damnable man! As if your gambling wasn’t bad enough,now I’m covered in your debt!”

(From WeChat Official Account,Shinan Wangshi.Translation:Chase Coulson)

果然他再次下賭注，輸了。賭徒又來到寺廟求助于菩薩，說：“求菩薩再保佑我一次，我贏了一定給你買件袍子。”

菩薩又托夢給他，但這次有個條件：先兌現承諾，后保佑他贏。

賭徒苦于兩手空空，僅剩下一本借賬簿，沒法兌現一件袍子的承諾。想了半天，他覺得菩薩不過是木胎泥塑，敷衍一下也就了事。于是把借賬簿拆開，用賬簿紙縫制了一件袍子給菩薩穿上。

夜里菩薩托夢給他：“袍子倒很合身，你個狗日的害我替你背了一身賬！”

（摘自微信公眾號“施南往事”）