牛求救屠改业

当抵腾越。寓万寿寺。与提督张松林坐谈。忽来黄牛跪面前。眼垂泪。旋杨胜昌屠者多人至。公向牛曰汝欲生。须皈依三宝。牛点首。为说三皈依。牛主誓改业皈依长斋。军门召为店佣。

宣化偈曰：

以羊易牛宣王心。恩及禽兽政施仁。
孟轲闻此千里至。黄牛皈依万古新。

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!