經律異相 22.12

22.12

昔有小國。去城不遠有好林藪。有五道士於中學道。有一比丘得六神通。有一沙彌年始八歲。共在山中。各一面坐思惟經道。師知沙彌命餘七日。在此亡者父母謂吾。看視不快使其命終。心懷怨恨。即語沙彌。汝父母思汝。汝可歸家八日早來。沙彌歡喜稽首而去。道逢大雨流潦滂沛。地有蟻孔流水欲入。沙彌念曰。我佛弟子。一者慈心。二者活生。即便土壅決水令去。沙彌歸家無有他變。八日晨還。師遙見之。怪其所以。七日應亡。今何因緣。將無鬼神化現來乎。即入三昧。見其救蟻現世延壽。沙彌至。稽首作禮於一面坐。師謂言。汝作大功德。為自知不。沙彌言。七日在家無他功德。師言。汝命應盡。昨日以救蟻故。現世增壽八十餘年。沙彌歡喜信善有報。即更勤修精進不懈。得阿羅漢（出福報經又出十卷譬喻經第七卷）。

Formerly, in a small state not far from the city, there was a fine forest where five Daoists studied the Way. There was one monk who had attained the six supernormal powers, and one novice whose years were just eight; together in the mountains, they each sat facing one side contemplating the sūtras and the Way. The master knew that the novice had only seven days of life remaining. [He thought,] "If he dies here, his parents will say that I did not look after him well and caused him to perish, and they will harbor resentment." He then said to the novice, "Your parents miss you. You may return home, and come back early on the eighth day." The novice rejoiced, bowed his head, and departed. On the road, he encountered a great rainstorm and a torrent of water flooded down. On the ground was an ant-hole, into which the flowing water was about to pour. The novice thought to himself, "I am a disciple of the Buddha; first, I have a mind of compassion, and second, I preserve life." He immediately blocked [the water] with earth and diverted the flow, causing it to run off. The novice returned home without any mishap, and came back on the morning of the eighth day. The master saw him from afar and was astonished by this: "He was supposed to die in seven days; by what cause and condition [is he here]? Can it be a ghost or spirit that has transformed and appeared to come?" He immediately entered samādhi and saw that through saving the ants, his lifespan had been extended in the present life. When the novice arrived, he prostrated himself, paid homage, and sat to one side. The master said to him, "You have performed a great merit; do you know it yourself or not?" The novice said, "During the seven days at home, I did no other merit." The master said, "Your life was due to end; yesterday, because you saved the ants, your lifespan has been increased in the present life by more than eighty years." The novice rejoiced, had faith that good deeds bear retribution, and thereupon cultivated with even greater diligence without remiss, attaining the status of an arhat. (Taken from the Fobao jing, and also from the seventh fascicle of the ten-fascicle Avadāna Sūtra.)