經律異相 22.12

22.12

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.)