寵貓皈依
林果愛 文
近覺英譯
1993年在一次因緣際會之下，我皈依了師父上人，成為一位佛教徒，也開始漸漸了解佛教的定義。
我的寵貓「BOBO」是我在1990年還未學佛之前購買的。在買 BOBO 之前， 我並不喜歡動物 。因為我很疼BOBO ， 我把她視為自己的女兒。所以學佛之後也開始了解六道輪迴，也知道畜生道的痛苦。所以我想近辦法，希望BOBO 將來能夠脫離畜生道。當天由法師代我問師父上人問題：貓是否可以皈依上人？上人回答：貓業障深重，如果皈依要一百萬。我還很無知的問其他佛友，師父講的是新台幣還是美金？既然沒有這麼多錢可以讓BOBO 皈依師父上人，我再想其他的辦法。
終於皇天不復苦心人。我也在1993 年5月1日 讓BOBO 皈依了三寶，成了一隻佛教徒的貓，法名林慈波。1994 年春天，我有幸與二位佛友在Burlingame會見師父上人。我告知師父在皈依時，要幫貓皈依三寶的人就是我。上人告訴我，只要我用功修行我就可以度她，不用皈依他。
師父上人涅盤之後，我請了許多上人開示及講經說法的錄音帶。我開始讓BOBO和我一起聽經，我也讓BOBO在佛前，即上人法像之前求懺悔，同時在家中常常撥放電子念佛機，希望BOBO能夠自己好好的跟著念佛機念佛號。
曾有佛有到家中來，跟BOBO打招呼：阿彌陀佛，BOBO也仰起頭來回應，喵了一聲：阿彌陀佛。
當BOBO年紀漸長，我經常告訴她要好好的念佛，臨終時才可以往生西方極樂世界。
2005年的年初，BOBO的體檢報告，顯示出她有慢性腎衰竭的毛病〈Chronic Rental Failure〉。我更時時的提醒BOBO，一定要好好的念佛，才可以了生脫死往生淨土。
現在回想起來，BOBO或許已知她快往生了。因為每當半夜我起床的時候，總是看見她在凝望著我，尤其是她往生的前幾個月。
2006年1月5日，BOBO的行為舉止與往常不同，所以我決定帶她到醫院檢查。知道她有慢性腎衰竭的毛病之後，我固定每隔2─3個月帶她去醫院複檢。1月6日早上醫生打電話要我馬上替BOBO辦住院手續。因為她的腎功能狀況比以前更不好。BOBO在10歲以後我每隔3─4個月帶她去體檢。〈貓的10歲等於人類的56歲以後每一年再加4歲〉。
在送往醫院途中，我一直告訴BOBO，如果她不想留在這個娑婆世界，她可以安心的走，不必掛念我，要好好的念佛求往生西方淨土。我也要求醫院讓BOBO的念佛機跟在她的身邊，這樣BOBO就可以無時無刻聽到佛號。BOBO在醫院住了兩天半，第一天晚上〈1/6/2006〉她的精神看起來還好，第二天〈1/7/2006〉醫生發現有貧血的問題。所以當我晚上去探望她的時候，她正在輸血。當我要回家的時候，BOBO突然撲向我，似乎要我帶她回家，我只好在醫院又多呆一會兒陪她。因超過了探病時間，我只好要BOBO好好休息，明天再去看她。
隔天中午〈1/8/2006〉，醫生突然打電話通知我，BOBO的情況不佳，〈早上醫生來電告知的狀況尚可〉。並告訴我BOBO的腎功能喪失並無法排尿。她的腎衰竭由慢性轉為急性〈Acute〉，醫生並建議給她「安樂死」，讓她減輕痛苦。我毫不猶豫的拒絕醫生的建議，並馬上趕到醫院辦理BOBO的出院手續，帶BOBO回家。
我在BOBO的身邊一直告訴她要放下一切，要好好的念佛求往生西方淨土。BOBO於1/8/2006下午6點左右回到家，於1/9/2006凌晨1點42分左右，很安祥的走了。完全沒有發生醫生事前警告的情況。她很幸運我一直在她身邊助唸〈BOBO享年歲等於人類歲〉。這是我這輩子第一次從頭到尾看到了生死的無常是如此的快速。心中完全沒有準備。心中的不捨及傷痛是無法用言語形容。這也是我一生中最痛苦跟最欣慰的時候；最痛苦的是看到了人生中對「生離死別」的無奈，最欣慰的是看到BOBO安祥往生。BOBO於1/19/2006上午火葬，而且遺留下不少舍利。很令人吃驚也讓人看到了佛菩薩的慈悲，不管是人類或畜生，只要你誠心念佛，阿彌陀佛一定會來迎接你的。
林慈波此生何等有幸，能得到師父如此的高僧大德之開示與教導，終令她能發大菩提心精進念佛，悟到「了生脫死」之道。即便是畜生都能夠悟到師父之教誨，也無形中教導我應該珍惜有限的生命精進用功修行。願以此與大家共勉之。
My Beloved Cat Took Refuge
By Gwo Ai Lin
Translated into English by Bhiksuni Jin Jue
I took refuge with the Venerable Master Hua by once-a- lifetime- occasion of the consequence of the cause and condition in 1993. I became a Buddhist and gradually began to understand the definition of the Buddhism.
I bought my pet cat Bobo in 1990, at that time; I have not study Buddhism yet. Before I bought Bobo, I didn’t like animals. Because I love Bobo so much that I look after at her like my own daughter. After I study Buddhism, I began to understood the transmigration of the six destines and the sufferings of the animal path. I tried my best to find a way to liberated Bobo from the animal path in the future. At that day, one Dharma Master asks the Venerable Master one question for me, “Can a cat take refuge with the Venerable Master?” .The Venerable Master answered, “Cats have deep and serious karmic obstacles. It cost million dollars for a cat to take refuge.” I even asked an ignorant question to the other Buddhist friend, “Does he mean New Taiwan Dollars or U.S. Dollars?” Since I didn’t have such huge amount of money for Bobo to take refuge with the Venerable Master, I then worked on the other possible methods.
Finally, as they said “the gods in the heaven never fail a person who undergoes hardship in order to achieve their goals; my effort got paid off. Bobo took refuge with the Triple Jewels at May First, 1993 and she became a Buddhist cat since then. Her Dharma name was Lin Ci Po. I have the honor to met Venerable Master with two Buddhist friends at Burlingame in the spring of 1994. I told Shi Fu that I was the person who wanted to help a cat to take refuge with the Triple Jewels, at that day I took refuge with Shi Fu. The Venerable Master told me that, as long as I applied great effort to cultivation, I would be able to rescue her by myself, it’s not necessary to let her took refuge with him.
After the Venerable Master entered nirvana, I requested a lot of audio cassette tapes of the Dharma Talks and Sutras lecture by the Venerable Master. I begin to let Bobo listen to the Sutra Lecture with me and I made Bobo made request of repentance in front of the image of the Venerable Master. I also play the electronic Buddhas recitation machine in my house very often, and I hope that Bobo could follow the sound of that machine to recite the Buddhist name well by herself.
It happen once in my house that a Buddha came in to said, “Amitabha” to greeted Bobo and Bobo greeted him back by raised her head and mews “Amitabha” .
Then, Bobo got older, I always told her that she needs to recited the Buddhas’s name well then she can got reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss while the end of her life approaching.
At the beginning of 2005, the report of Bobo’s physical examination test discovered her Chronic Rental Failure problem. I constantly reminded Bobo that she needs to recited the Buddhas’s name well to liberate herself from birth and death and got reborn in the pure land. I thought that she might knew that she’s about to died, because I always found out that she’s gazed on me every time that I woke up in the midnight, especially during the period of several months before her death.
文章定位：
