法苑珠林 57.37

57.37

Under the Sui, there was Bian Shiyu of Yangzhou. During the Sui, his father was granted the title of Grand Master for Thorough Counsel for his merit in pacifying the Chen dynasty. He was miserly. Once, he hired laborers to build a house but did not pay them their wages. When a laborer came demanding the money, Bian's father whipped him and said angrily: 'If I truly owe you, in death I will become an ox for you!' In a brief moment, Bian's father died. That year, a cow belonging to the laborer conceived and gave birth to a yellow calf. Across its waist were black markings running horizontally all around, like a human belt. On its right thigh were white markings crossing diagonally, large and small, shaped exactly like an ivory tablet. The owner of the ox called out to it: 'Lord Bian, why did you default on me?' The calf immediately bent its front knees and touched its head to the ground. Shiyu offered one hundred thousand cash to redeem it, but the owner would not allow it. Only when it died did he collect and bury it. Shiyu personally recounted this when facing [others].