A Way to End Karmic Retribution
 
Once upon a time, there was a monk who cultivated in a temple. He was very diligent. At the time, the country was overrun by robbers and they were like savages. One night, a deity told the monk in a dream, “You are going to die tomorrow. There is a robber named Zhu Er, who rides a white horse. You owe him from a previous life. You will not be able to avoid him this time.” The monk begged the deity, “I did many good things during this lifetime, I'm begging you to save me.” The deity said, “No, I cannot save you. Only you can save yourself.”
 
The next morning, a robber really showed up and took the monk captive. The robber demanded that the monk take him to the area’s treasures and women. The monk noticed that the robber’s horse was white and immediately remembered the dream of the previous night. He said to himself, “I have accumulated much karma, enough to cost me my life. If I take him to rob treasure and give him the opportunity to assault women, I will gain more karma on top of my existing karma.” Therefore, he said to the robber, “I will not take you anywhere. Aren't you Zhu Er? I would rather have you kill me. It's enough for you to kill just me.”
 
The robber was shocked to hear the monk's words. He asked, “How did you know my name? You must be a monk who has achieved a divine nature!” Then, the monk told him about his dream.
 
After hearing about the dream, the robber regretted deeply his misdeeds. He threw his weapon to the ground and said, “When could there possibly be an end to this karmic repayment! Although the deity said he couldn't save you, he already did. You did not lead me to commit more crimes. This is how you saved yourself! From now on, all the karmic hatred between you and I is dispelled.” He then knelled in front of the statue and worshiped for quite some time before leaving.
 
This story showed that good deeds will bring rewards and bad deeds will result in retribution! Because of the monk's one benevolent thought, he saved himself and others. There is a proverb, “The inherent nature of man is good at his birth.” This robber Zhu Er had not been turned all bad, but could enlighten to the truth and still held goodness in his heart. He enlightened to the principal, “There is no end to karmic repayment!” He forgave the monk, and benevolently resolved the karmic hatred from a past lifetime. He also changed from an evil to a good person. This is the best that could have happened! All this originated with the compassionate hint from the deity. Indeed, when people truly believe in and respect the deities, they will be compassionate and help people.
 
信神敬佛必得护佑　善心宽恕救人救己
 
从前，有一僧人在庙中修行，颇为努力。当时盗贼肆虐，有一天晚上，僧人梦到神告诉他说：“你明天就要死了，有个骑白马的贼叫朱二，他与你前世有怨仇，你躲不过去了。”僧人在梦中哀求道：“念我今生多行善事，求您救护。”神说：“我不能救你，能救你的只有你自己了。”
 
第二天天明，果然有贼人入山，贼人将庙中僧人抓来后，问他此地财物和女人的所在，并且威胁让其带领前去。僧人一看贼人所骑的马，果然是一匹白马，随即想起昨夜之梦，自念道：“我的罪业已经致死了，如果再领着你们去掠夺财物、淫人妇女，那我就是业上加业了。”于是大声对贼说：“我不领你去，你不是朱二吗？我让你杀我，只杀我一人就可以了。”
 
贼人听了僧人一番话大吃一惊，问：“你怎么知道我的名字，你肯定是神僧了！”僧人于是将前夜之梦一五一十的告诉了贼人。
 
贼人听后深有感悟，他将凶器扔到地上说道：“怨怨相报何时有穷尽啊！神说不救你，其实已经救你了，你不领我前去作恶，这已经是你自己救了自己啊！你我之间的所有怨仇现在就此化解了，这有甚么不可以呢？”随即在神像面前跪拜再三后方才离去。
 
这个故事再现了善有善报的天理，僧人因为一念之仁，在救了他人的同时，更救了自己免遭杀戮。俗话说“人之初，性本善。”这贼人朱二尚有些悟性和善念，他领悟到“怨怨相报何时了”的道理，宽恕原谅了他人，从而将这宿世怨仇善解，并且改恶迁善，这真是善莫大焉！这全缘于神佛的慈悲点化，其实，人真的信神敬佛时，神佛真的会慈悲于人。