經律異相 34.8

34.8

The Buddha went to the house of a gṛhapati to eat. Upon entering, he did not close the door, and to anyone who followed and came in afterwards, he gave food to make them all fully satisfied. The younger brother conceived an evil thought: "I will not allow them to enter! If I am ever free to do so, when a bhikṣu comes, I will break his legs." The two brothers then parted ways, and both went to lie beneath trees. Because the younger brother had conceived an evil thought, a startled ox galloped by, ran him over, and broke his legs. Because the elder brother had conceived a wholesome thought, as the sun moved west, the shade of the tree remained over him as before. King Prasenajit's son-in-law died, and the king loved his daughter dearly; for her sake he summoned a brāhmaṇa to look for a man of merit to be his son-in-law. The brāhmaṇa went out to inspect and saw a man lying beneath a tree, and as the sun moved west, the tree shade still covered him. The brāhmaṇa said, "This is a man of merit," and immediately reported it to the king. The king said, "How do you know?" [The brāhmaṇa] related the above matter in full. [The king] summoned him, washed him, dressed him in fine clothes, and gave his daughter in marriage to him. (Extracted from Fascicle 4 of the *Ten-Fascicle Avadāna Sūtra*)