釋門自鏡錄 2.40

2.40

慧旻姓顧氏。少出家不修行業。善於興販。甞當眾倉厨。私自食用。知僧財帛。方便割盜。後遇疾而終。遂託牛腹中。生已形容光偉蹄角圓好。眾共愛惜別加養飼。於一時駕車載竹將欲上坂。極力牽挽困而未登。遂兩膝屈地肘鼻流血。時綿州雙男師者不測人也。來在益州因行見之。嗟歎曰。此人也。乃以手撮牛角。問訊牛曰。何似旻公償債辛苦。於是淚下如雨。眾僧見之無不悲愍。遂報旻弟子共贖之。牛不食數日於是而終。

Huimin was surnamed Gu. Having left home when young, he did not cultivate pure conduct, but was skilled at commerce. He once oversaw the community's storehouses and kitchen, secretly using [provisions] for himself; and while managing the saṃgha's money and silk, he found clever ways to embezzle them. Later, he contracted an illness and died, whereupon he took birth in the womb of an ox. After being born, it had a majestic form, with rounded hooves and fine horns. The community all prized it and gave it special feeding and care. Once, when harnessed to a cart loaded with bamboo and about to ascend a slope, it pulled with all its might, yet was exhausted and could not climb it; both its knees bent to the ground, and blood flowed from its elbows and nose. At that time, Master Shuangnan of Mianzhou was an inscrutable man; having come to Yizhou, he saw it while walking, sighed and said, "This is a human being!" He then took the ox's horns in his hands, greeted it, and asked, "How does it feel, Master Min, to repay your debts through such bitterness and toil?" Thereupon tears fell from the ox like rain. The monks who saw this all felt pity and grief. They then informed Min's disciples, who together redeemed it. The ox refused food for several days and thereupon died.