法苑珠林 45.39

45.39

As the Old Sūtra of Miscellaneous Parables says: In the past, two men studied the Way under a master. Together they went to another country, and on the road they saw elephant tracks. One man said, 'This is a female elephant carrying a female fetus. The elephant is blind in one eye. On the elephant is a woman pregnant with a female child.' The other man said, 'How do you know this?' He replied, 'I know it through thoughtful reflection. If you do not believe it, go forward and see.' Both caught up with the elephant, and it was entirely as he had said. The other man thought to himself, 'I studied under the master together with you; how is it that I alone did not see it, while you alone knew it?' Later they returned and reported to the master. The master expounded on it again, and summoned the one man, asking, 'By what reason did you know this?' He replied, 'It is what the master always taught us: I saw where the elephant urinated on the ground and knew it was a female elephant; I saw that its right foot stamped deeper into the ground and knew it was carrying a female fetus; I saw that the grass on the right side of the road was undisturbed and knew its right eye was blind; I saw where the elephant stopped there was [human] urine and knew it was a woman; I saw her right foot trod deeper into the ground and knew she was carrying a female child. I merely deliberated upon it with subtle and meticulous thought.' The master said, 'In learning, one must attain thoroughness through steady and careful reflection.'