經律異相 45.22

45.22

There was a great gṛhapati of countless wealth. His son was handsome, wise, and deeply fond of the scriptures and the Path; he left home to follow a teacher and practice the scriptures and Dharma. The teacher first had him gather alms for seven days. In the kingdom, there was a lewd wife of a household who called him inside. When he entered, she closed the door and came forward to drag the śramaṇa. The śramaṇa would not comply. The woman was greatly enraged; she called her maidservants to dig a fire pit ten feet deep, and ordered four maidservants to grasp him tightly so his body could not move, bringing him above the fire pit. The śramaṇa said: "Stop for a moment; let me calculate." The śramaṇa reflected to himself: "If I enter the fire, it is merely one death. By dying while upholding the precepts, I can be born in heaven; if I break the precepts and die, I will enter hell with no time of release." He then stepped into the pit. The fire turned into water reaching the śramaṇa's waist, and he calmly walked out. (Extracted from the Ten-Fascicle Avadāna-sūtra, fascicle 5)