时间：09/06/2025 09/07/2025
地点：星河禅修中心
主讲：黄云全
佛法修行
毗多输柯之死
阿育王的好友毗多输柯，有一次前往一个偏远的地方，回国后发现自己生病了。随着病情不断加重，他的头上竟长出了许多脓疮。
阿育王听说后，马上派医生帮毗多输柯治疗。医生认为要让他恢复体力、增强体质，唯一的办法就是喝牛奶，于是毗多输柯只好前往盛产牛奶的地方。
当时有一个叫分那婆陀那的国家，这个国家的人都信奉外道。一个佛门弟子把这个情况报告阿育王，阿育王便派密使去探察。
过了些日子，密使带回外道门生以及他们的经典著作，阿育王看了非常生气，下令把分那婆陀那国的外道异教徒全部杀光，一天之内竟杀了十万八千多人。
当时有一个异教弟子，他对自己的宗教十分崇敬，画了一张佛陀在敬奉自己神明的画像。阿育王听说这件事，立刻将他的亲属抓来用火烧死。
盛怒的阿育王还下令：「如果有人能杀死这个异教徒，提着他的头来见我，我就赏他金子。」
这时，毗多输柯来到养牛场已经有很多天了，每天都喝牛奶，但是病情仍然不见起色。长期生病使他的头发和胡须都长得很长，衣服也破烂不堪，浑身又脏又臭。
听到阿育王悬赏捉拿一个异教徒，养牛场的女主人看着毗多输柯，心想：「看他狼狈的样子，这家伙是不是那个被追杀的异教徒呢？」她悄悄对丈夫说：
「你应当杀了这个异教徒，割下他的头，交给阿育王，那么我们就可以得到赏钱了。」
女主人的丈夫听了，立即拔刀去杀毗多输柯。毗多输柯因为病弱的身体根本无力搏斗挣扎，一下子就被杀死了。
当养牛场女主人和丈夫把毗多输柯的头交给国王时，阿育王一看，震惊地说：
「这不是毗多输柯的头吗？」
明白了整件事情后，阿育王低着头不说一句话，内心难过不已。
一旁的大臣便劝慰国王说：「那些被追杀的异教徒也正面临这种苦难。大王应当给人民生存的欢乐，不要用死亡恐吓人民。」
阿育王认为大臣说的有理，就下令停止一切杀害异教徒的行为。
许多比丘想不明白：「毗多输柯以前做过什么事，为什么遭到杀头的报应呢？」便去请示优婆笈多尊者。
优婆笈多说：「过去世上有一个猎人，专门射杀野鹿。在一片森林中，有一池清泉，这个猎人经常在水边用网或绊绳杀这些野鹿。
佛陀在未成佛以前，还是修行者悉达多时，有天来到这水边吃饭、洗澡，然后坐在树下休息。野鹿嗅到生疏的气味，自然不敢靠近水边。猎人看到佛陀的前身坐在树下，不由得生气地想：『难怪鹿都不来，都是因为这个人坐在这里。』他越想越生气，竟举刀向佛陀的前身劈去。
这个过去的猎人就是毗多输柯，因为他杀了很多鹿，所以他总是生病，忍受着身体的痛苦，又因为他曾经用刀劈佛，所以才遭到被杀头的报应。」
Date: 09/06/2025 09/07/2025
Location: Star River Meditation Center
Teacher: Yunquan Huang
Dharma Talk
The Death of Vidhūṣaka
Thus have I heard:
At one time, there lived a noble friend of King Aśoka named Vidhūṣaka. He once journeyed to a remote region. Upon his return, he fell ill, and his condition gradually worsened. Painful boils appeared upon his head, and his strength declined by the day.
When King Aśoka heard of his dear friend’s suffering, he immediately dispatched physicians to care for him. After careful diagnosis, the healers concluded:
“Only by drinking fresh cow’s milk can his strength be restored and his vitality regained.”
And so, Vidhūṣaka traveled to a distant land known for abundant milk. That land was the kingdom of Puṇḍravardhana, where the people followed heterodox teachings and adhered to non-Buddhist paths.
A disciple of the Buddha came to know of this and reported it to the King. Hearing that the country followed heretical views, King Aśoka secretly dispatched agents to investigate.
After some time, the emissaries returned, bringing with them the texts and disciples of those outside the Dharma. Upon reading their doctrines, King Aśoka was enraged. In a fit of fury, he decreed:
“Let all the heretics of Puṇḍravardhana be exterminated!”
Thus, in a single day, more than 108,000 people were slain.
Among them was a devout follower of a non-Buddhist path who, in his misguided reverence, had painted an image of the Buddha bowing before his own deity. When this was reported to the King, he seized the man’s kin and had them burned alive.
Moreover, King Aśoka proclaimed:
“Whosoever brings me the head of that heretic shall be rewarded with gold!”
Meanwhile, Vidhūṣaka remained in the cattle station, drinking milk daily. Yet his condition did not improve. His long illness had rendered him gaunt and disheveled, with unkempt hair and beard, his garments torn and body foul-smelling.
The woman who oversaw the cattle herd saw his pitiful state and thought:
“This filthy man must be the heretic the King is hunting.”
She whispered to her husband:
“Slay this man, cut off his head, and present it to the King. We shall be rewarded with gold!”
Hearing this, her husband took up a blade and struck Vidhūṣaka down. Weak and helpless from prolonged illness, Vidhūṣaka could not resist. He was killed instantly.
When the couple presented the severed head before King Aśoka, the King was shocked:
“This is the head of Vidhūṣaka, my friend!”
Overcome with grief and horror at the tragic mistake, he lowered his head in silence, his heart heavy with remorse.
Then one of his ministers came forward and offered counsel:
“Great King, the suffering you feel now is the same pain you have brought upon others. You should bring joy to your people, not strike fear through death and destruction.”
King Aśoka, moved by these words, came to his senses. He immediately revoked the order of slaughter and ceased the persecution of those who held different beliefs.
Later, many bhikkhus pondered:
“What past karma did Vidhūṣaka commit to suffer such a fate—to be beheaded in this life?”
They went to the venerable Upagupta and inquired.
Upagupta replied:
“In a past age, Vidhūṣaka was a hunter who took delight in slaying deer. In the heart of a forest, there was a clear pool of water where many deer came to drink. The hunter often laid snares and traps to catch and kill them.
At that time, the Bodhisattva—before his final birth as the Buddha—was living as the ascetic Siddhārtha. One day, he came to that forest pool, bathed, ate, and sat beneath a tree to rest.
The deer, sensing a human presence, did not approach the water. The hunter, watching from afar, grew angry:
‘The deer have fled because of this man!’
Enraged, he took up his sword and charged at the ascetic, intending to strike him down.
That hunter was Vidhūṣaka. Because he killed many deer, he has long suffered from bodily afflictions in this life. And because he once raised his sword against the Bodhisattva, he has now met death by the blade.”
