經律異相 36.26

36.26

昔罽賓國有一長者。本大富。父母亡後。常供養數道人。數年之中家欲貧困。無復有得。為父母作福念之愁毒。婦語婿言。寧一世懃苦後長解脫。遠使父母得福無量。長者言然。持我二人權舉百兩金。約用金盡就作畢直。得金便施盡乃往作。遣夫耕田婦厨下炊。耕得大石似磨蓋。發視見金千鼎。便還覆之不復還食。長者遣婦餉夫。夫便擔金自歸其家。明日稱金還耳。主人夫婦反舍。復為七世父母布施用之。終身不盡（出十卷譬喻經第一卷）。

In ancient times in the country of Jibin, there was an elder who was originally very wealthy. After his parents passed away, he constantly provided for several religious persons. Within several years his household verged on poverty, and he had nothing left. He grieved bitterly when he thought of cultivating merit for his parents. His wife said to her husband, "It is better to toil diligently for one lifetime and attain everlasting liberation afterward, bringing boundless merit to your parents far and wide." The elder said, "Indeed." Taking the two of them [as surety], he temporarily borrowed one hundred liang of gold, agreeing that when the gold was spent, they would go to work off the debt. Having obtained the gold, he gave it in charity, and only when it was completely spent did they go to work. The husband was sent to plow the fields, and the wife cooked in the kitchen. While plowing, he struck a large rock resembling the lid of a millstone. He opened it to look, and saw one thousand cauldrons of gold. He immediately covered it up again and did not even return to eat. The elder sent his wife to bring food to her husband; the husband then carried the gold and returned home on his own. The next day, he weighed out the gold and simply repaid the debt. The master and his wife returned home; they gave charity for their parents of seven lifetimes, and used it without exhausting it for the rest of their lives. (Extracted from the first fascicle of the Ten-Fascicle Sūtra of Avadānas)