法苑珠林 75.34

75.34

Furthermore, the Old Sūtra of Diverse Parables states: In the past, a woman gave birth to a daughter of peerless beauty. When the girl was only three years old, the king of the country took her to look at her and summoned a man of the Way to read her physiognomy, asking whether she was fit to become queen consort in the future. The man of the Way informed the king: 'This girl will have a husband, and only afterwards will the king obtain her.' The king said: 'I will hide her securely; how could it be that I obtain her only afterwards?' He then summoned a crane to come, and asked: 'Where do you live?' The crane told the king: 'I abide in a great mountain, where halfway up there is a tree that neither humans nor beasts ever visit. Below it are swirling waters where no boats can go.' The king said: 'I entrust this girl to you to rear.' The crane then took her and flew away. Day after day, it took food from the king and gave it to the girl. After a long time had passed like this, an upstream settlement was suddenly washed away by floodwaters. A tree branch drifted downstream with the water, and a man managed to grasp the tree. Falling into the swirling water, he was unable to escape the eddy. On the bank, there was a grape vine that sprang forth and rested against the mountainside. Following it, the man was able to climb up to the crane's tree, where he engaged in illicit relations with the girl, and the girl hid him. The crane noticed that the girl's body had become heavy; searching left and right, it found the man, seized him, and threw him away. It reported the matter to the king. The king said: 'That former man of the Way was truly skilled in reading people's physiognomy.' The Master says: 'People have past retributions that cannot be controlled by force. When one meets the retribution, it must take place; animals are also like this.'