經律異相 15.31

15.31

When the Buddha was in the state of Śrāvastī, he was suffering from an attack of wind disease. He summoned Ānanda to go to a brāhmaṇa's house to beg for cow's milk. Ānanda sought it as instructed. The brāhmaṇa said, "The cow is over there; go and milk it yourself." Ānanda went to where the cow was. The cow was usually prone to butting and trampling people, so that no one could approach her. Ānanda thought to himself, "The rules of the teacher whom I serve do not permit me to milk cows myself." Śakra, king of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven, immediately descended, transformed himself into a brāhmaṇa in proper attire, and stood beside the cow. Ānanda asked him to milk the cow. The brāhmaṇa agreed, stroked the cow's udder with his right hand, and said, "The Buddha has a slight wind disease. Give me your milk so that the Buddha may drink it. If the Buddha recovers, your merit will be immeasurable." The cow said, "How delightful it feels when this hand strokes my udder! Take two parts of my milk, and leave two parts behind for my calf. My calf has not eaten or drunk since morning." The calf, beside its mother, heard the name of the Buddha mentioned and said, "Take all of my portion and give it to the Buddha! The Buddha is the Great Teacher of humans above and beneath heaven, and it is exceedingly rare to encounter him. I will eat grass and drink water on my own. When I was a human, because I associated with bad companions and did not believe in the Buddha's scriptures, I was made to be a cow and horse for sixteen kalpas; only now have I been able to hear the name of the Buddha. Take all the milk I would drink and give it to the Buddha! Fill the vessel and go. May I attain wisdom and achieve the Buddha Path in future lives." Ānanda took the milk and returned. The Buddha asked him, "What did the cow and her calf say?" Ānanda answered according to the facts. The Buddha said, "Later, at the time of Maitreya Buddha, the mother cow will become a śramaṇa and attain the fruit of an arhat. After the calf dies, it will be reborn as a human; it will hang silk banners, scatter flowers, and burn incense for me, upholding the scriptures and precepts for twenty kalpas, after which it will become an arhat and the Buddha will deliver myriad people throughout the world." (Extracted from the Calf Sūtra.)