經律異相 19.82

19.82

There was a śramaṇa contemplating the Way in the mountains. There was a ghost that transformed into a headless person and walked along. The śramaṇa said, "Wonderful! Having no head, you do not know a headache; and having neither eyes nor ears, you know no sounds." The ghost transformed again into a person without a torso. The śramaṇa said, "Wonderful! A person without a torso knows neither pain nor itching; having no five viscera, you are not sick." The ghost transformed again into a person without hands or feet. The śramaṇa said, "Wonderful! Having neither hands nor feet, you cannot walk, nor do you take other people's things." The ghost, knowing that the śramaṇa held fast to his resolve, then vanished away. (From the one-fascicle Miscellaneous Avadāna Sūtra).