法苑珠林 57.41

57.41

Under the Tang, Lu Boda of Xiaoyi County in Fenzhou owed one thousand cash to a man from the same county during the Yonghui era. Later, he violated the contract, refusing and denying the debt. When the creditor held the contract and went to collect, Lu took a solemn oath with the creditor before the Buddha, saying: 'If I have not repaid you, sir, may I become an ox for your household after death!' Having spoken, he died before a year had passed. In the second year, a cow in the creditor's house gave birth to a red calf. On its forehead, white hairs grew into the three characters 'Lu Bo Da'. His sons and nephews were ashamed of this, and brought five thousand cash seeking to redeem it. The owner was unwilling to part with it, and donated it to the monk Zhenru of Qifu Temple in Xicheng County to assist in constructing a fifteen-story stūpa. When people saw it, they resolved to cease wrongdoing, and vied with one another to donate money and goods. (The preceding three verifications are from the Mingbao [ji]).