---
title: 99.招魂 A Close Call
description: "\"This is bizarre,\" Yin Anyan asked his family, \"Who on earth killed my donkey?\""
---

99. A CLOSE CALL

　　"This is bizarre," Yin Anyan asked his family, "Who on earth killed my donkey?"

　　"What?"

　　"Yeah, somebody killed my donkey and left the skin in the yard." They went out to look.

　　"Looks like somebody ate the meat and left the hide." They were all pretty angry. It had been a nice donkey.

　　A year or two after this strange event, somebody accosted Yin on the street and said, "Your time is up. The soul-catchers will collect you tomorrow." And then the person disappeared in thin air.

　　Yin was covered with goose bumps. He went straight to Cumen Temple,where he knew some of the monks, and sat down in the chapel. He didn't go home that night, but spent his time kowtowing, telling the Buddha Amitabha's name, and reciting sutras.
　　Sure enough, the next morning he saw a dozen demons coming with spears and halberds and swords to fetch him. They stood outside the temple and roared, "Get out here as quick as you can!" Yin ignored them, and kept reciting his sutra.

　　"I told you we should have got him yesterday. Now he's in there reciting a sutra and there's not a thing we can do." Yin's hair stood on end when he heard that. He buried his nose in the sutra. The demons went into a huddle. Then they left to fetch other souls, but they stationed one demon at the door to catch Yin if he stepped outside.

　　Soon that sentry said, "Look, why don't you come along peacefully without any fuss? It'll be easier for us all around. We don't have anything against you personally. We're just doing our job.

　　"The problem is that the donkey you murdered has filed a suit against you, so we have to take you in. Sorry, man, but that's the way it has to be."

　　"You can ask my family!" Yin said. "I didn't kill that donkey at all! Somebody else did, and left the skin in my yard. I'm innocent!"

　　"Tell it to the judge."

　　"Look, let's do it this way. I'll recite sutras and hold ceremonies for the soul of my old donkey, but I can't do that if I'm dead, can I? Could you go ask the donkey if that's okay?"

　　"All right, I'll go see what I can do. But if the donkey doesn't buy that, we'll be back for you tomorrow, with a warrant, so it won't do you any good to hide in here. If we don't come for you tomorrow, that means it's a deal." The demon disappeared in a puff of smoke.

　　The next day Yin was on pins and needles all day, but the demons didn't show up. Yin recited sutras for the dead donkey's soul, and performed ceremonies to release it from its suffering.

　　But even better than that, Yin learned an important lesson. He learned that all living creatures love their lives. From then on, he and his entire family never ate another bite of meat.

99.招魂

　　「太怪了，」殷安嚴問他的家人，「究竟是誰殺了我的驢？」

「什麼？」

　　「是的，有人殺了我的驢，還把驢皮留在院子里。」他們都出去查看。

　　「看上去好像是有人吃了驢肉，把驢皮留下了。」他們都很生氣，那是一頭很好的驢。

　　這件事發生一兩年後，路上忽然有個人對殷搭話說，「你時間到了。鬼使明天就來逮你了。」說完那個人就不見了。

　殷全嚇得全身起了雞皮疙瘩，徑直走到楚門寺，因為他認識那里的一些和尚。他在大殿里坐下來。那天晚上他沒回家，而是不停地叩頭、念佛、誦經。

　　果然，第二天早上他看見許多帶著槍、戟、劍的鬼怪來抓他。他們站在寺門外，大聲嚷著，「快出來！」殷對他們視而不見，繼續念經。

　　我告訴你們我們昨天就應該把他抓走。現在他在里面念經，我們一點辦法都沒有。」殷聽到後寒毛倒立，只顧埋頭讀經，鬼怪們商量 了一會，決定先去抓別的靈魂。他們在門口留下一個鬼怪，只要殷一出門，就把他抓走。
　　不久，這個鬼怪說，「你看，你為什麼不安安靜靜地出來讓我們把你帶走呢？這對你我都有好處。我們對你並無惡意，我們只是在執行任務。」

　　「問題在于，你殺了的那頭驢子告了你一狀，所以我們才來抓你。對不起了，這是例行公事。」

　　「你可以問我的家人!」殷說，「我沒有殺那頭驢！別人干的，還把驢皮留在院子里。我是無辜的！」

　　「對法官說吧。」

　　「這樣吧。我會為我的老驢誦經做超度法事。如果我死了，我就做不成了。請你回去問問那頭驢，這樣行不行?」

　　「好吧。我問問行不行。如果那頭驢不買你的帳，我們明天還是會奉命回來抓你的。你老在這里躲著也沒有什麼用的。如果我們明天不回來，說明它同意了。」鬼怪化成一陣煙消失了。

　　第二天，殷一整天如坐針氈，但是鬼怪沒有再出現。殷為驢子的靈魂念經，還做法事減輕它的痛苦。

　　比這更好的是，殷得到了重要的教訓。他明白了所有的生物都愛惜自己的生命。從此，他和全家再也沒吃過肉了。