法苑珠林 64.28

64.28

During the Tang dynasty, Li Shou, Duke of Sui'an and Area Commander of Jiaozhou, had initially been enfeoffed as a prince due to being of the imperial clan. In the early Zhenguan era, he was relieved of his post and returned to his capital mansion. By nature he was fond of hunting, and constantly kept several couples of hooded hawks, killing others' dogs to feed them. Soon afterward the Duke fell ill, and saw five dogs coming to demand his life. The Duke said to them, 'The one who killed you was my servant, Tongda; it was his fault, not my crime.' The dogs said, 'How could Tongda act on his own authority? Moreover, we did not steal your food, but were merely passing by your front gate, yet you unjustly slaughtered us. We must certainly have our retribution and will never rest.' The Duke apologized for his transgression and offered to cultivate posthumous merits on their behalf. Four of the dogs agreed, but one white dog refused, saying, 'Since I was innocent, you killed me, and before I had even died, you sliced away my flesh while I was still alive. The pain from being cut to ribbons was intense; when I think of this bitterness, how could I let you go?' Shortly thereafter, a person was seen pleading with the dog on his behalf, saying, 'Killing him will bring you no benefit. Is it not better to release him so that he can cultivate posthumous merits for you?' The dog then agreed. A short while later, the Duke revived, but thereupon suffered from hemiplegia, with his limbs unresponsive. Thereupon he cultivated posthumous merits for the dogs, but the Duke's illness ultimately did not heal. Dou Yun, Duke of Yan'an, said that his wife's younger brother related this to [Tang] Lin (the above four verifications are taken from the Mingbao ji).