【The Tale of Prince Siddhartha and the Eagle】
【The Tale of Prince Siddhartha and the Eagle】
Once upon a time, when
Siddhartha Gautama, the prince destined to become the Buddha, was still young,
he lived in the palace surrounded by wealth,
luxury, and every material comfort imaginable.
Despite this, Siddhartha had
begun to feel a deep sense of dissatisfaction with the
world around him.
He sensed that there was something more to life beyond the riches and pleasures
of his royal life.
One day, as he ventured out into the palace gardens, Siddhartha observed an eagle soaring gracefully in the sky.
The bird circled above, appearing to be free, untouched by the constraints of the earth below.
Siddhartha marveled at the eagle’s freedom and beauty, feeling a deep longing within himself to experience such freedom, to break free from the chains that bound him to his royal life.
As he watched, however, the eagle suddenly swooped down and seized a smaller bird from the ground.
Siddhartha's heart sank as he watched the powerful predator claim its prey.
He realized that the eagle, though free, was also caught in the cycle of survival—its freedom was tied to the suffering of others.
The sight of the eagle eating its prey stirred a complex mix of emotions in Siddhartha.
He understood that the eagle, in its pursuit of food, was simply following the natural order.
Yet he also saw how all beings were part of a larger web, where the actions of one creature inevitably affected others.
This moment sparked a realization in Siddhartha: true freedom wasn’t just about liberation from the palace or material wealth, but about breaking free from the cycles of suffering, desire, and attachment that all beings were caught in.
As the young prince sat there in deep thought, an old monk appeared beside him.
The monk, having witnessed the
same event, spoke gently to Siddhartha:
"The eagle is both free and bound, my prince.
It soars high above, but its actions still ripple through the lives of others.
We, too, are caught in the web of life, unable to escape the cycles of suffering.
But through wisdom and compassion, we can free ourselves, not from life itself, but from the attachment that causes us pain."
The monk’s words resonated deeply with Siddhartha, and from that moment, he began to seek understanding—not just of freedom in a worldly sense, but of true liberation of the heart and mind.
The prince realized that only through compassion for all beings, and understanding the interconnectedness of life, could one achieve true peace and freedom.
The eagle continued to soar above, as Siddhartha made his way back to the palace, but his heart had already begun its journey toward enlightenment.
This version of the tale emphasizes Siddhartha’s early realizations about the interconnectedness of life, the nature of suffering, and the importance of compassion—all central themes in his journey to becoming the Buddha.
【悉達多太子與鷹的故事】
從前，注定要成為佛陀的王子悉達多·喬達摩還年輕的時候，住在宮殿裡，周圍充滿了財富、奢華以及可以想像到的一切物質享受。
儘管如此，悉達多開始對周遭的世界感到深深的不滿。他感覺到，除了皇室生活的財富和享樂之外，生活還包含更多意義。
有一天，當悉達多走進宮殿花園時，他發現一隻鷹在天空中優雅地翱翔。鳥兒在空中盤旋，看起來很自由，不受下面大地的束縛。悉達多驚嘆於鷹的自由和美麗，內心深處渴望體驗這種自由，擺脫束縛他的皇室生活的枷鎖。
然而，當他注視時，那隻鷹突然俯衝下來，從地上抓起了一隻較小的鳥。當悉達多看到這強大的掠食者奪走獵物時，他的心沉了下去。他意識到，鷹雖然自由，但也陷入了生存的循環——它的自由與其他人的痛苦息息相關。
看到老鷹吞食獵物的景象，悉達多心裡湧起複雜的情感。他明白，鷹尋找食物只是遵循自然法則。但他也看到所有生物都是更大網路的一部分，其中一個生物的行為不可避免地會影響其他生物。這一刻，悉達多頓悟：真正的自由不只是從宮殿或物質財富中解放出來，而是擺脫眾生所陷入的痛苦、慾望和執著的循環。
正當年輕的王子坐在那裡沉思時，一位老僧侶出現在他的身邊。僧侶目睹了同樣的情景，溫和地對悉達多說：
「我的王子，鷹既自由又受束縛。它翱翔在高空，但它的行為仍然影響著他人的生活。我們也被困在生命的網絡中，無法擺脫痛苦的循環。但透過智慧和同情，我們可以解放自己，不是從生命本身，而是從給我們帶來痛苦的執著中解放出來。」
僧侶的話語深深引起了悉達多的共鳴，從那一刻起，他開始尋求理解──不只是世俗意義上的自由，而是真正的心靈解放。王子意識到，只有透過對所有眾生的同情，並理解生命的相互聯繫，才能獲得真正的和平與自由。
當悉達多返回宮殿時，鷹繼續在天空中翱翔，但他的心已經開始了走向啟蒙的旅程。
這個版本的故事強調了悉達多早年對生命相互聯繫、苦難本質和同情心的重要性的認識——這些都是他成佛之旅的中心主題。】
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