法苑珠林 65.45

65.45

又雜寶藏經云。昔者有一羅漢道人。畜一沙彌。知此沙彌却後七日必當命終。與假歸家。至七日頭。勅使還來。沙彌辭師。即便歸去。於其道中見眾蟻子。隨水漂流命將欲絕。生慈悲心。自脫袈裟盛土堰水。而取蟻子置高燥處。遂悉得活。至七日頭還歸師所。師甚怪之。尋即入定。以天眼觀知其更無餘福得爾。以救蟻子因緣之故。七日不死得延命長（又治故塔亦得延命。又治補伽藍牆壁泥孔亦得延命）。

Furthermore, the Saṃyuktaratnapiṭaka-sūtra says: In the past, there was an arhat, a man of the Path, who kept a novice. Knowing that this novice would surely die when seven days had passed, he granted him leave to return home, instructing him to come back when the seven days were over. The novice took leave of his master and went home. On his way, he saw many ants drifting along with the water, on the verge of death. Arousing a compassionate mind, he took off his kāṣāya himself, held earth in it to dam the water, and picked up the ants, placing them in a high and dry place. Consequently, they all survived. When the seven days were over, he returned to the master's place. The master was greatly astonished. Immediately entering samādhi, he observed with the divine eye and knew that [the novice] had no other merit to obtain this; solely through the cause and condition of rescuing the ants, he did not die after seven days and gained a long prolongation of life. (Also, repairing an old stūpa brings prolongation of life; repairing walls or plastering holes in a saṃghārāma also brings prolongation of life.)