經律異相 48.14

48.14

Beside the Monkey River in Vaiśālī, there was a garlic garden. The nun Thullanandā resided not far from the garden. The owner of the garden asked, 'Does the aunt need garlic?' Thereupon the nun, together with novice nuns and śikṣamāṇās, went repeatedly to demand garlic, until it was completely exhausted. Its owner abandoned the garden and left. The Buddha preached a past-life tale: Formerly, there was a brāhmaṇa, one hundred and twenty years old, whose body was frail and emaciated. His wife was incomparably handsome, and she bore many sons and daughters. This brāhmaṇa bound his heart to his wife and his children, never leaving them. Because of this ardent love and attachment, when he came to the end of his life, he was born among geese. The feathers of its body were all golden. Owing to the conditions of his former merit, he remembered his past lives, thinking, 'By what skillful means can I sustain these children so that they will not suffer poverty?' Day after day he returned, and day after day he dropped one feather and departed. Seeing this, the children did not understand the cause, and discussed together, saying, 'We had better wait for him when he arrives, find a way to seize him, and take all his golden feathers.' According to their plan, they plucked all the golden feathers. Once the feathers were gone, white feathers grew back. The Buddha told the monks, 'Do you wish to know who the brāhmaṇa was who died and became a goose back then? Could he have been anyone else? He was none other than the garden owner. His handsome wife was none other than this nun. The sons and daughters were none other than these śikṣamāṇās and novice nuns' (taken from the Vinaya in Four Parts, Part Two, Fascicle 3).