法苑珠林 26.35

26.35

Xiang Jing of the Jin, whose courtesy name was Fengren, was a man of Henan. In Wuxing Commandery, he lost a daughter who was several years old. When the girl first fell ill, she was playing with a small knife; her mother snatched it from her and would not give it to her, cutting the mother's hand. One year after her death, the mother gave birth to another girl. When the girl was four years old, she said to her mother, "Where is the knife from before?" The mother said, "There is none." The girl said, "In the past, we fought over the knife and thus cut Mother's hand. Why do you say there is none?" The mother was extremely astonished and reported everything to Jing. Jing said, "Is the former knife still around or not?" The mother said, "Grieving deeply for the former daughter, I did not keep track of it." Jing said, "You can find several more knives and place them all together to let the girl choose for herself." When the girl saw them, she was delighted, immediately picked up the original one, and said, "This is mine." Parents, old and young, then knew that the former daughter was truly her previous life. (The above three verifications are from the Mingxiang ji.)