V. 12. The Snake-Ghost and the Crow-Ghost
Ahipetavatthu
Kaitlyn's summary:
One day, the Venerable Elder Lakkhana and the Venerable Elder Moggallana the Great descended from the Vulture Peak with the intention of making an alms pilgrimage in Rajagha. The Venerable Elder Moggallana the Great saw a snake-ghost and smiled but didn't explain to Elder Lakkhana why until they sat with the Buddha. When they were in the prescence of Buddha, the Elder started explaining that he saw a snake-ghost and a crow-ghost both the length of 25 leagues. Another time, Moggallana saw a crow-ghost while enduring torment on the summit of Vulture Peak. Curious, he asked the crow-ghost what deed he did to meet such suffering at which he said he ate food brought to a company of monks. While Moggallana was explaining the story of the crow-ghost, the Buddha told the other monks that what Mogallana said was the truth as he attained Enlightenment when he saw the crow-ghost. Then, the Buddha explained the story of the snake-ghost. At the end, the Buddha explained that an evil deed is like milk as it isn't milk when drawn from a cow, but when it is riped, it brings such suffering like this.
