牛求救屠改業

當抵騰越。寓萬壽寺。與提督張松林坐談。忽來黃牛跪面前。眼垂淚。旋楊勝昌屠者多人至。公向牛曰汝欲生。須皈依三寶。牛點首。為說三皈依。牛主誓改業皈依長齋。軍門召為店傭。

宣化偈曰：

以羊易牛宣王心。恩及禽獸政施仁。
孟軻聞此千里至。黃牛皈依萬古新。

Helping an ox gain deliverance, and a butcher changes profession

Reaching the town of T'eng Yueh, the Master stayed in Wan Shou (Ten Thousand Years) Temple. One day, as he was sitting and talking with the Provincial Governor Chang Sung Lin, a yellow ox suddenly appeared. It knelt down before the Master, shedding tears. Following it was a butcher named Yang Sheng Ch'ang, and several others. The Master said to the ox, "If you wish to live, you must take refuge with the Triple Jewel." The ox nodded its head and was given the Three Refuges. The owner of the ox, the butcher, vowed to change his profession, took refuge, and became a vegetarian. The governor recommended him for a job in a store.

The gatha says:
Substituting an ox for a sheep, Emperor Hsuan showed a princely heart.
With empathy reaching to even the birds and beasts, he governed with humaneness.
If Mencius had heard about this event, he would have come a thousand miles.
A yellow ox had taken refuge - a rarity in ten thousand years!