經律異相 19.56

19.56

迦羅國。時有餓鬼。倚城門立。比丘滿願問餓鬼曰。汝今在此何所求索。鬼曰。汝今見我耶。比丘曰見。鬼曰。我夫入城于今未還。故於此立自待夫出耳。比丘問曰。汝夫入城為何所求。時鬼答曰。今此城中有大長者。患癰積久。今日當潰。膿血流溢。夫主持來。二人共食以濟其命。比丘復問。汝夫主入城已幾許時。城郭逼近江河。舉手指城。語比丘曰。此城於彼此岸成敗以來。今為第七。我夫入城經爾許時。餓鬼形壽不可稱亦無齊限（出群牛千頭經）。

In the kingdom of Kāla, there was at that time a preti (female hungry ghost) standing against the city gate. The monk Pūrṇa asked the preti: "What are you seeking here now?" The ghost said: "Do you see me now?" The monk replied: "I see you." The ghost said: "My husband went into the city and has not yet returned; therefore I stand here waiting for him to come out." The monk asked: "What did your husband go into the city to seek?" The ghost replied: "Today, in this city, a great elder has long suffered from an ulcer. Today it is supposed to burst, with pus and blood flowing forth. My husband went to fetch it so the two of us could eat together to sustain our lives." The monk asked again: "How long ago did your husband enter the city?" The city walls were close to a river. Pointing her finger at the city, she said to the monk: "From the times this city has arisen and fallen between that bank and this bank, this is now the seventh. My husband entered the city during such a span of time." The bodily lifespan of hungry ghosts cannot be measured, nor has it any limit. (Extracted from the Sūtra of the Herd of One Thousand Cattle).