感謝法友轉寄分享~
以下的這則「供養」的故事（英文部分），於今年夢參老和尚講解「占察善惡業報經」時，也有講過這則故事，但，故事的內容有些許不同！
〝夢老〞說的故事內容如下：
佛陀時代有位乞丐女，某一天，她撿到了一枚金幣。她算了一下，這枚金幣足夠她吃一個月。但是，她又想到，她這生沒有錢供養佛陀，於是，考慮過後，她決定拿這枚金幣去買油供養佛陀。
到了油舖，她要買油，油舖的老闆問她：「你的容器呢？」
她回答：「我沒有容器，我是個乞丐，一無所有。」
老闆問：「那麼，你買油要做什麼？」
她回答：「我要供養佛陀。」
油舖的老闆很感動，於是告訴她：「這樣吧！我給你一個盛油的器皿，妳的這一枚金幣其實上不足以裝滿它，但是我仍會裝滿它，妳的供養也有我一份。」
就這樣，乞丐女到了佛陀的住處，將她手中的油倒進其中的一個油燈，但是，並沒有填滿那個油燈。也就是說，她的油不足以填滿一個油燈。
就在她添油的同時，波斯的某個國王，差遣了他的部屬用車子拉來了足以供養10萬盞的油燈的油，供養佛陀。
第二天一早，佛陀的弟子目健蓮，要將油燈熄掉，重新換油。他將所有的燈都滅掉了，唯獨這盞乞丐女供養的燈滅不掉，目健蓮心想：「咦！怎麼會滅不掉呢？既然滅不掉，我用神通滅掉它！」目健蓮就用他的神通想滅掉這盞燈，但是仍然滅不掉它。
這個時候，佛陀走到外面，跟目健蓮說：「你滅不掉這盞燈！」目健蓮問佛陀：「為什麼？」佛陀說：「因為供養這盞燈的人，一無所有，她只有一枚金幣，但是，她全部都拿出來供養了，這就叫做『竭盡使』，『傾其所有』，所以你滅不掉它。但是，看看那個供養十萬盞油燈的國王，人連來都不來，出張嘴差遣部屬來，一點心意都沒有，十萬盞油燈對他來說，根本不算什麼，所以，你可以輕易的滅掉那些燈。」
At the time of Buddha, there lived an old beggar woman called Relying on Joy. She used to watch the kings, princes, and people making offerings to Buddha and his disciples, and there was nothing she would have liked more than to be able to do the same. But she could only beg enough oil to fill a single lamp. However, as she placed it before Buddha she made this wish: “I have nothing to offer but this tiny lamp. But through this offering, in the future may I be blessed with the lamp of wisdom. May I free all beings from their darkness. May I purify all their obscurations, and lead them to enlightenment.”
That night, the oil in all the other lamps went out. But the beggar woman’s lamp was still burning at dawn, when Buddha’s great disciple Maudgalyayana came to collect the lamps. He saw no reason why one lamp was still alight and tried to snuff it out. But whatever he did, the lamp kept burning.
Buddha had been watching all along, and said: “Maudgalyayana, do you want to put out that lamp? You cannot. You could not even move it, let alone put it out. If you were to pour the water from all the oceans over this lamp, it still wouldn’t go out. The water in all the rivers and lakes of the world could not extinguish it. Why not? Because this lamp was offered with devotion, and with purity of heart and mind. And that motivation has made it of tremendous benefit.”
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