創造因緣 Creating Karmic Affinity
佛陀在世時，有一位比丘修養很好，人人都很敬重他，有一天，佛陀座下的弟子即請問道：「佛陀！這位年輕的比丘到底有何德行？為何有這麼多人對他如此禮敬、讚歎呢？」佛陀說：「這是來自於他的發心發願！」
When the Buddha was in this world, there was a Buddhist monk with tremendous discipline who was respected by everyone. One day, the Buddha was asked by his disciple, "Buddha! What virtues does this young monk really possess? Why is he so respected and commended by people?" The Buddha said, "This is because of the goodness he aspires to and the vows he has made!"
佛陀說了一個故事：
The Buddha then told a story...

過去有兩人是很好的朋友，但是，他們的生活非常貧苦。有一次，他們相約出門去找工作，其中一位發現家中的食物僅剩下一碗綠豆，這是他們唯一僅有的資糧，於是就帶著這碗綠豆出門。
Once upon a time there lived two men who were really good friends, but both of them were very poor. One day they left home together to look for work, but one of them found that the only food he had left in his house was a bowl of mung beans, and it was going to be their only food for the trip, hence they left home with just a bowl of mung beans.

當他們進城後，遇到一位辟支佛，他的行儀非常莊嚴，而且修行境界高深，來去自如。他們見到辟支佛非常歡喜，即彼此商量：「他能夠來去自在、威儀莊嚴，這一定是前世修來的福慧德行！」其中一位說：「過去生我們一定是沒有修福，所以現在這麼困苦。如今能遇到有修證的聖者，實在是很難得，我們要把握機會供養聖者。」
After they went into town, they came across a Pratyeka Buddha who carried himself with great dignity. He had a high level of spiritual cultivation and came and went freely. The two men were very happy to see the Pratyeka Buddha, and they said to each other, "For one to be able to carry himself with great dignity and to come and go freely, this must be due to the blessings and wisdom that he cultivated from his previous life!" One of the men said, "We must have not cultivated blessings in our previous lives for us to live in such poverty now. It is truely a rare chance for us to cross paths with someone so spiritually cultivated, and we shall grab hold of this opportunity to make offerings to this sage."

另一位也說：「我也有同感，但是，我們身無他物，要拿什麼供養呢？」這位回答：「我帶了一碗綠豆出門，就以此供養辟支佛吧！」另一位讚歎說：「很好、很好，你能夠發這分心，我也隨喜讚歎！」
The other man said, "I feel the same way, but we don't have anything, what could we offer him?" His friend replied, "I took a bowl of mung beans with me as I left home, we shall offer this to the Pratyeka Buddha!" The other man said, "Sounds great! Nice to see you have such willingness, makes me rejoice with praise!"

於是，他們端著綠豆走到辟支佛前，恭恭敬敬地呈上。辟支佛非常歡喜，他知道他們非常貧苦，卻做到難捨能捨，連唯一僅有的一碗綠豆也願意布施供養，於是為他們祝福。
They walked up to the Pratyeka Buddha with the bowl held high in great respect. The Pratyeka Buddha became very happy; he knew that the men were very poor but were still willing to offer him the bowl of mung beans, which was the only thing they had. Therefore he gave them his blessing.

他們接受祝福後跪地發願，其中一位說：「來世我若有福，願成為一位國王掌理國事，然後能得因緣修行，證悟更高的智慧！」另一位發願說：「來世我若能生在婆羅門家庭，願讀誦經典，並精進修行，得到解脫！」他們相依為命度過貧困的一世，先後往生了。結果到了下一世，他們都能如願以償。
The men knelt down on the ground to make vows after receiving their blessing. One of them said, "If I am fortunate enough in my next life, I vow to become a king in charge of managing a state, and then gain the karmic affinity to spiritual cultivation and be enlightened with a higher level of wisdom!" The other man vowed, "If I am fortunate enough to be born into a Brahman family in my next life, I vow to study Buddhist scriptures, be diligent in my cultivation, and in the end become liberated!" The two men lived their live in poverty, but they received what they have wished for in their next life.

總之，發心發願才能創造因緣，而且必須方向正確、用心實踐；有心有願，持之以恒才能達到目標。貧富、貴賤之果報皆起於心念，所以，於日常生活中心念要端正，願力不可退失，能夠如此才有好因好果。
All in all, one needs to make vows, show willingness and be determined in order to create karmic affinity; one also needs to exert the effort to put things into practice on the correct path. Good intentions and a strong resolve, coupled with perseverance, is key to achieving a goal. The karmic retributions of wealth and status are all caused by the thoughts of the mind, therefore we must not allow our minds to go astray in our everyday life. We must not lose the determination in our vows, for it is the only way to create good karma.