old-path-white-clouds-thich-nhat-hanh

Chapter Seventy-Three
Hidden Rice
Late one night, while sitting in meditation on Vulture Peak, the Buddha opened his eyes to see a man half-concealed behind a nearby tree.
The Buddha called to him. Beneath the bright moonlight, the man came forward, laid a sword at the Buddha’s feet, and prostrated himself
as if making an offering.
The Buddha asked, “Who are you and why have you come here?”
The man exclaimed, “Allow me to bow before you, Teacher Gautama! I was ordered to come and kill you but I cannot do it. I raised
this sword in my two hands more than ten times while you were meditating, but I was unable to take even one step towards you. I cannot
kill you, but now I am afraid that my master will kill me. I was trying to decide what to do when you called to me. Allow me to bow before
you!”
The Buddha asked, “Who gave you orders to come kill the Tathagata?”
“I dare not tell you my Master’s name!”
“Very well, you need not tell me his name. But what did he tell you to do?”
“Master, he told me which path to climb up the mountain and he showed me a different path to return by after completing my mission.”
“Do you have a wife and children?”
The man exclaimed, “Teacher Gautama, I was ordered to kill you, but I cannot do it!”