經律異相 46.66

46.66

In the past, in a foreign country, a person died. His soul returned to whip his corpse. A bystander asked, 'This person is already dead; why do you whip him again?' He replied, saying, 'This is my former body. It committed evil on my behalf: seeing the scriptures and precepts, it did not read them; it stole, cheated, violated other men's wives, was unfilial to parents and brothers, and begrudged wealth, refusing to give in charity. Now dying, it has caused me to fall into the evil destinies, where my pain and bitter agony cannot be expressed in words. For this reason I have come to whip it.' (Extracted from the Piyujing)