經律異相 47.25

47.25

Formerly, there were two monks in a mountain who dwelt in seclusion, practiced the Way, and attained supernatural powers. Not far from them was a lioness that gave birth to two cubs and reared them until they grew somewhat larger. Wishing to go hunting for prey, she entrusted her cubs to the two men of the Way, seeking food near their cave. Sometimes returning every five days to see them, she grew familiar and close with the men of the Way, and then would set off again. As days and months passed, one day both men of the Way were away and not present. A hunter encountered the cubs and intended to shoot them; the beasts bolted into the forest. The hunter thought: "These [cubs] often rely on and accompany the men of the Way. If I put on the attire of a man of the Way, only then will I catch them." In the rock cave there were left-behind kāṣāya robes. The hunter put them on and went to where the cubs were. The cubs thought he was a man of the Way and delightedly ran up to him together. The hunter struck and killed them, skinned their hides to make furs, and sold them. When the men of the Way returned and did not see the lion cubs, they sought them without success. Focusing their minds in contemplation, they knew the cubs had been killed by a hunter. They then used their supernatural flight to pursue and seize the pelts back. Using them as sitting mats, they constantly stroked them, chanted spells, and made vows, wishing to bring about their liberation. Before long, they sat in meditation again and contemplated where the cubs had gone, [seeing] that they had become twin sons in the house of a great elder in the Central Country. When they had just entered the womb, their mother had not yet realized it. The men of the Way asked, "What does the elder lack?" He replied, "My household is very wealthy; we lack only sons." The men of the Way told him, "We can cause you to have sons." The elder was overjoyed: "If so, I shall be indebted to your kindness." The men of the Way said, "If you indeed obtain sons, how will you repay our kindness?" He said, "When they grow up, they shall be given to the men of the Way as disciples." The men of the Way made vows and departed. From that time on she realized she was pregnant. Later, she gave birth to two boys who resembled each other as one. When they reached the age of eight, the men of the Way came to their household again. Because of past karma, the boys naturally loved and revered them. The men of the Way said to the elder, "Do you remember your past agreement?" Bound by his original pledge, the elder had no choice, and he presented each boy to one of the men of the Way. The men of the Way took them to become novices. Diligently striving, before long they too attained the Way. They also constantly sat on the hides, and once sat in meditation together, observing where the spirits of these hides had been reborn. They realized they were their own past bodies' hides. Looking at each other, they went before their masters, bowed at their feet, and thanked them, saying: "We have truly received great kindness." (Extracted from the fifth fascicle of the Avadāna-sūtra.)