經律異相 44.58

44.58

Formerly, a poor family made offerings to a practitioner of the Way. After one year he departed, giving a bronze vase to the master of the house, saying: 'This vase is divine. Strike the mouth of this vase, and whatever you request will be obtained. Do not invite the king.' After the departure, he struck the vase, and the family became enormously rich. Forgetting the practitioner's admonition, he eventually invited the king. The king asked about the cause of his wealth, and he answered the king truthfully. The king immediately seized the vase, and the family turned poor and distressed once more. Only then did he remember the practitioner; he searched everywhere, found him, and reported the truth. The practitioner said, 'Do you still need this vase? I give you a bowl filled with gravel. Take it to the king's gate and demand the vase.' He went straight to the king's gate and loudly demanded the vase. Hearing this, the king was furious, and sent several dozen men to capture him. Opening [the bowl], he threw out the gravel; the wind blew it across the sky, and wood and stones struck and cracked the heads and foreheads of the king's men. Soon a thousand men emerged; battered by the force of the wind, dead corpses blocked the gate. The king was terrified and begged to return the vase. The man retrieved the vase, his family became very rich again, he widely performed meritorious deeds, and upon dying was reborn in heaven. (From the Za piyu jing)