牛被杀前跪地乞命 临终托梦要见牧童
Repost: The bull knelt and begged for its life before being killed; and before its death, it came to the cowboy’s dream requesting to see him for the last time. (2015-06-01 12:25:41)
当年被拍下的老牛下跪真实照片 The above is the picture of the kneeling old bull .
这不是故事，更不是传说，这是一个真实的事件。
This article is neither a fiction, nor a tale. It is a real event.
1980年，福建省福安赛岐镇，杨厝生产队有一头大公牛性情暴躁，不喜欢被人羁勒，以致牛鼻无法栓住它。主人觉得无用，于是准备鬻（卖）给福州牛肉加工厂。此事被放牛的牧童得知后就对牛说：“你将要被鬻（卖）给食品厂屠杀了，我以后再也见不到你了。”牛听到这句话后，立刻跪下，泪水涔涔而下。
It happened at Yang Cuo production team of Fu An Sai Qi town in Fujian Province, 1980. The production team owned a big irascible bull that disliked to be bridled and it was impossible to make it plough. The owner thought the bull was useless, so he decided to sell it to a Fuzhou beef processing plant. The cowboy heard of the news and told the bull, “ You will be sold to a food factory and be killed soon. And I will never see you again.” Having been told of this, the bull immediately went down on its knees, with tears streaming down its face.
此时此刻大牛用绝望和哀求的目光盯着牧童，向牧童瞌头示意，似乎在说救救我，我不要被屠杀。顿时，牧童被这种给吓住了。牧童回家后告之其父母，父母怀疑就来到大牛跟前观看，果然看到它向他们下跪哀求的样子。
At this time, the bull looked at the cowboy with its despairing and imploring eyes, and kowtowed to the boy seeming to say: “Please help me! I don’t want to be killed!” The cowboy was frightened by what happened. He told what he had seen to his parents after he came back home. Doubting what their son said, the cowboy’s parents went to watch the big bull and they saw what their son had told them: the bull was kneeling, begging for mercy.
村里人知道后都跑来观看。大牛看到众人的到来，就像是感觉到希望来了，于是就逐一向众人落泪跪求，众人都被牛的这一举动感动了，即动了恻隐之心，于是大伙集资将这头牛买下，并决定将其送到宁德支提寺放生。
Having learned the bull’s story, all villagers went to watch the bull. Their arrival gave the bull hope. So it knelt and kowtowed to them one by one, begging for mercy with tears. Everyone was moved so they donated money to redeem the bull and decided to set it free in Zhiti temple of Ningde city.
支提寺当时已有八头牛了，此牛来后，群牛似乎都受到这头牛的约束，再也不蹂践庄稼，而且每天出去吃草都是它带队去带队回来。
There were already 8 cattle in Zhiti temple at that time. It seemed that the new coming big bull became the leader of these 8; and they never trampled on the crops since then. The bull also led the group of cattle to graze on outside and led them back every day.
支提寺有很多耕地需要耕种，它都特别懂事帮忙田头师父耕种田地。此牛放生后这消息很快传遍整个闽东地区，只要有信徒来支提寺烧香拜佛的人都要去看看此牛，大牛每见善信来寺均懂得礼拜叩谢。而大牛也更喜欢天天在支提寺听经礼佛。从这时起闽东地区就很少人吃牛肉了。
There was large area of farmland needed to be ploughed at Zhiti temple. The bull was very intelligent and it helped the farming monks with plowing work. The bull’s story was flashed around the whole eastern area of Fujian province. Every believer who came to Zhiti temple to worship Buddha would visit the bull. And the bull would kowtow to them to express its gratitude. The bull also developed a liking for listening to Buddhist Sutras and paying reverence to Buddha. From then on, very few people in the eastern area of Fujian province would take beef as their food.
1993年农历九月的一天，此牛预知自己将要命终，于是托梦给牧童说：“我的日子已经不长了，希望能见你最后一面”。
On one September day of lunar calendar in1993, the bull foresaw its coming death and came to visit the cowboy in his dream and said, “I have only a few days left in the world. I hope to see you for the last time.”
第二天，牧童对昨晚的梦寻思着，并决定到支提寺去看看大牛。当他来到支提寺，大牛此时已经生病了。寺中僧众预先已经在海会塔旁挖一洞穴，牧童看到此种场景心中非常悲痛，于是决定在寺里小住几天看看。果然在农历九月十三日的早晨，已经看起来疲惫不堪的老牛挣扎着站起来，慢步走至海会塔旁预先挖好的洞穴卧倒。寺里僧众齐集为它说法助念至上午十点钟往生。后来寺中僧众就掊土为冢以瘗之。
The next day, thinking about the dream the previous night, the cowboy decided to visit the bull at Zhiti temple. The bull had already been gravely ill and the monks had digged a pit beside Haihui pagoda in advance. Saddened by the scene, the cowboy decided to stay at the temple for some days so that he could see what would happen to the bull. On the morning of lunar September 13, as expected, the fatigued bull struggled to stand up, walked slowly to Haihui pagoda and lay down in the pit digged in advance. The monks gathered at the temple, offering Dharma explanation and chanting assistance to the dying bull. They chanted until it finally went to Buddha’s Pureland at 10 o’clock that morning. And the monks covered its body with soil and buried it.
至今在福建宁德支提山华严寺仍留有这个放生牛真实事迹碑文。
Up to now, the inscription recording the true story of the bull still remains on a tablet at Huayan Temple of Zhiti hill in Ningde city of Fujian province.
注：宁德市支提山华严寺当地人都称叫“支提寺”是天冠菩萨的道场，在《华严经》里有记载，距离宁德市区约45公里。
Note: the locals also call Huayan temple of Zhiti hill in Ningde city Zhiti temple. The temple, as recorded in Avatamsaka Sutra, is the Dojo of the Heavenly Crown Bodhisattva and it is 45 kilometers away from Ningde downtown.
南无本师释迦牟尼佛
Namo Sakyamuni Buddha
南无阿弥陀佛
Namo Amitabha Buddha
南无大悲观世音菩萨
Namo Bodhisattva Guan Yin
南无十方三世一切佛菩萨
Namo all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the three periods of time from ten directions
愿以此功德
普及于一切
我等与众生
皆共成佛道
May the merit and virtue accrued here
Equally be upon all
May every sentient being and I
All achieve Buddhahood
转载：守月亮
转载时间：2015年6月1日
翻译：灵界见闻翻译组
翻译时间：2017年2月14日