經律異相 44.40

44.40

Formerly, a man was walking in the mountains when he encountered a man-eating ghost, who grabbed him intending to eat him. The man begged for mercy, saying: 'Grant me a moment to ask one question; if you eat me only after that, I will harbor no regret.' The ghost believed the man, thinking it was genuine, and permitted his request. The man asked the ghost: 'Why are your face, legs, knees, and belly white, while the rest of your body is completely black?' The ghost replied: 'By my nature as a creature, I abhor the essence of the sun; I can walk with my back to the sun, but cannot face toward it. For this reason I am like this.' The man then ran facing toward the sun; the ghost could only resent it in vain and could not catch him. (Extracted from the Ten Fascicles Parable Sūtra, fascicle 4).