冥報記 3.13

3.13

Yin Anren of Jingzhao came from a wealthy family and had long served the monks of Cimen Monastery. At the beginning of the Yining era, a guest lodged at his home and stayed there. The guest stole someone else's donkey, flayed its hide, and gave it to Anren. When it came to the third year of the Zhenguan era, Anren met a person on the road who said to him, 'The authorities are pursuing you. An emissary will arrive tomorrow, and you must die.' Anren was terrified and went straight to the Buddha Hall in Cimen Monastery, where he stayed through the night without coming out. At mealtime the next day, there indeed arrived three horsemen accompanied by several dozen men, all bearing weapons, who entered the monastery. Seeing Anren from a distance, they called him to come out. Anren did not respond, but recited the Buddha's name and chanted sūtras with ever-greater diligence. A ghost said, 'Yesterday we did not take him at once; now that he is cultivating merit like this, how can we possibly seize him?' Thereupon they left together, leaving behind one man on guard, who said to Anren, 'In the past you killed a donkey, and the donkey has now filed a complaint against you; that is why we have come to arrest you. In the end, you must confront it face to face; what benefit is there in not going?' Anren replied from a distance, 'In the past, the thief killed the donkey himself and merely gave me the hide. It was not I who killed it; why am I being pursued? Please go back and tell the donkey on my behalf: "I originally did not kill you. Yet now I will cultivate merit on your behalf for your benefit; you ought to release me."' The man agreed, saying, 'If the donkey refuses, I shall come again tomorrow; if it consents, I shall not come again.' Having finished speaking, he departed. On the following day, he indeed did not come. Anren thereupon cultivated merit on the donkey's behalf, and his entire household upheld the precepts and ate a vegetarian diet (Lu Wenli related this, saying that Anren is still alive today).