三寶感應要略錄 1.99

1.99

昔罽賓國有精舍。僧徒三百餘人。沙彌二十餘人也。沙彌之中。最少生年十三。上座驅使僧事不違。時有一尼乾子。善占相察。見沙彌云。汝餘壽唯二年也。沙彌聞之。生大怖畏。經一夏時。尼乾見沙彌云。不可思議。不可思議。甚為希有。汝壽既延五十年。有何妙術。沙彌云。更不修延命法。尼乾白上座。上座是三明大阿羅漢。入邊際定。觀知因緣。從定而起。告尼乾子言。此沙彌於夏初。眾僧修營精舍壁。時少一木。即持古杖。加之成壁。以是因緣。延五十年壽矣。

Formerly, in the kingdom of Kapiśa, there was a vihāra with more than three hundred monks and over twenty novices. Among the novices, the youngest was thirteen years old. He obeyed without fail when the senior monks assigned him monastic duties. At that time, there was a Nirgrantha skilled in physiognomy and divination. Seeing the novice, he said: “Your remaining lifespan is only two years.” Hearing this, the novice became terrified. After passing one summer retreat, the Nirgrantha saw the novice and said: “Inconceivable! Inconceivable! Truly rare! Your life has already been prolonged by fifty years. What marvelous art do you possess?” The novice said: “I did not practice any other method for prolonging life.” The Nirgrantha addressed the senior elder. The elder was a great arhat possessed of the three knowledges; entering the ultimate meditative absorption, he observed and understood the cause. Arising from absorption, he told the Nirgrantha: “At the beginning of the summer retreat, when the community of monks was repairing the walls of the vihāra, they were short of one piece of timber. He immediately brought an old walking staff and added it to complete the wall. By this cause and condition, his lifespan was prolonged by fifty years.”