法苑珠林 55.20

55.20

Then Śakra, king of the gods, drew the milk and filled the bowl. Ānanda received the milk and was exceedingly joyful. Thereupon the brahmans who had come from the village, hearing what this cow and her calf said, were all astonished: "This cow was vicious and wicked, so that no one could approach her; why is she so gentle and docile today? Surely she has been moved by Ānanda. If a disciple of Gautama is like this, how much more so must be the Buddha's virtues, majesty, and supernatural transformations! Yet we did not believe his teachings." Then more than ten thousand brahman men and women rejoiced together; far from the dust and free from defilement, they attained the Dharma-eye. Ānanda carried the milk back to the Buddha and related the whole story. The Buddha said to Ānanda: "It is indeed as the cow and calf said. In a past life, this cow and calf were once a householder, immensely wealthy with vast riches, yet stingy and not giving, disbelieving the Buddha's precepts, and ignorant of saṃsāra. He always loved lending out wealth, and outsiders borrowed from him. When the appointed day came, he liked charging heavy interest without any fairness. Even when they had fully repaid the money, he would falsely contest it, claiming it was not yet paid. Solely for this reason he fell among beasts for sixteen kalpas. Why do they rejoice now upon hearing my name? Because their beastly retribution is also about to end. When this cow and calf's lives come to an end hereafter, they will be reborn seven times in Tuṣita Heaven and in the Brahmā heavens, and seven times in the human world. They will be born into wealthy households and will not go to the evil destinies. Wherever they are, they will always have recollection of past lives; they will make offerings to all Buddhas, burn incense, and uphold the scriptures. Through these causes and conditions, the mother cow will at last meet Maitreya Buddha, become a śramaṇa, and through diligent practice soon attain arhatship. The calf will likewise go through twenty kalpas of rebirths above and below, after which it will become a Buddha named Milk Radiance (Dugdhaprabha). The cow and her calf will both be delivered." In the assembly, five hundred sons of elders all generated the resolve for unsurpassed bodhi, and three thousand eight hundred brahmans immediately attained the fruit of stream-enterer (srotāpanna).