眾經撰雜譬喻 2.16

2.16

Formerly, there were two śramaṇas in a mountain, living in seclusion and practicing the Way, who attained the six supernormal powers. Not far from them, a lioness gave birth to two cubs. As they gradually grew bigger, the lioness wished to roam about. She thought to herself that only the virtue and benevolence of the renunciant could be entrusted with their lives. She then said, "I wish to go roaming. The two cubs are still small, and I fear someone might harm them. I wish to entrust them to you, renunciant. Relying on your kind protection, I will return to see them myself." The renunciant agreed. When the lioness returned from roaming and saw that the cubs were attached to the renunciant, she again left them and roamed off. When the renunciant returned from almsround, he shared the leftover food with them. Whenever they saw the renunciant return, they joyfully came out to greet him. Later, when the renunciant had gone roaming, a hunter encountered the cubs. The cubs scattered and fled into the grass. The hunter, relying on the renunciant's appearance, put on the kāṣāya robe from inside the cell and entered the grass to capture them. The cubs thought he was the renunciant and immediately came running to him. The hunter beat them to death, skinned them, and made a lion-skin coat worth a thousand liang of gold. When the renunciant returned from his walk and did not see the lions, he sat in meditation to observe. Knowing they had been killed by the hunter, he immediately used his supernormal power to retrieve the skins, made a mat to sit upon, and recited aspirational prayers for them. He meditated and observed again, and knew that they would be reborn in the household of an elder in the kingdom as twin sons. The renunciant went to the household and asked the elder, "What do you lack?" The elder replied, "I only suffer from having no son." He then promised to seek sons for the elder. The elder was overjoyed. The renunciant asked, "If you obtain sons, how will you repay me?" The elder replied, "When the sons grow up, I will offer them as śrāmaṇeras." The renunciant said, "Do not forget this agreement." Conception was soon perceived, and later twin boys were indeed born, looking so alike as to be identical. When they were eight or nine years old, the renunciant passed by; the two boys saw him and were naturally joyful. The renunciant said to the elder, "Do you remember your original vow?" The elder did not dare to break the vow, and gave the two sons to the śramaṇa. The śramaṇa took them into the mountains to study. Before long, they also attained arhatship. They constantly sat upon the old skins, and entering meditation daily to observe themselves, they saw the skins of their own former bodies. Each arose, bowed, and expressed gratitude: "It is through the master's gracious power that we were enabled to attain the Way; it was entirely the power of your benevolent thought." If even animals with wholesome minds can attain liberation, how much more so those who set their wills and generate wholesome vows—how could they not attain liberation?