Then Nagasena asked the king,
“Suppose, great king, when you
are thirsty and want to drink, and you ask your men to have a well dug out,
could that meet the king’s thirst?” “Certainly not, it cannot meet the
immediate thirst of the king. The well should be dug beforehand.” “It is the
same with regard to a person, if a person were to do good deeds, he should have
done it early. If he does it late, it is not so beneficial to him.”
Nagasena again asked the king,
“Suppose, when the king feels
hungry, then he asks his men to plough the
field, to manure it and to sow crops. Could his belly be filled by doing so?”
“Certainly not, there should be a savings of grain.” “It is the same with
regard to a person, he should have done good deeds in advance. If he does good
deeds only when he is in danger, it is not beneficial to him.”
Then Nagasena asked the king,
“Suppose, the king has an opponent who he suddenly confronts in battle without
preparation, could the king order people to train horses, elephants and men in warfare and also to make
weapons?” The king replied, “No, those things should have been prepared in
advance. Then the king could go out to the battle at any moment. If the war has
broken out already, it is useless for the king to ask his people to train
horses, elephants and men.”
Nagasena said, “Thus the Buddha has
said in the sutras: ‘People should strive to perform bodily good actions before
(disaster strikes), as good actions performed afterwards are not useful or
beneficial. One should not give up the right path and adopt the wrong path, do
not follow the ignorant ones who discard good and performs evil and who have to
lament and wail afterwards, it is of no use. People who discard righteousness
and adopt crookedness are going to repent on their death-bed.’” “Excellent,
Nagasena.”
Nagasena Bhiksu Sutra
Translated By Ven. Guang Xing
Source : thedailyenlightenemnt.com
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