三寶感應要略錄 1.99

1.99

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.”