四六 和平手段
村裏有條蛇，傷害了不少村民，以致村民都不敢下田。便到大師座前去祈求。聽說大師馴服了這條蛇，還勸牠遵守和平規範。
沒過多久，村民就發現這條蛇變溫馴多了。他們拿石頭丟牠，還抓着牠的尾巴到處跑。
有天晚上，蛇遍體鱗傷地爬到大師門口前怨嘆不已。大師說：「朋友，你已經罩不住人類了－－那真遭！」
「那是你教我謹守和平規範的緣故啊！」
「我只是禁止你傷害人類，並沒有禁止你張牙吐舌地嚇唬他們啊！」
NON-VIOLENCE
A snake in the village had bitten so many people that few dared go into the fields.
Such was the Master’s holiness that he was said to have tamed the snake and persuaded it
to practise the discipline of non-violence.
It did not take long for the villagers to discover that the snake had become harmless.
They took to hurling stones at it and dragging it about by its tail.
The badly battered snake crawled into the Master’s house one night to complain. Said
the Master, “Friend, you’ve stopped frightening people — that’s bad!”
“But it was you who taught me to practise the discipline of non-violence!”
“I told you to stop hurting — not to stop hissing!”