Guan Yin lot 6 of 100
Feeding the tiger below the cliff
Even (中平). Grade from the related Goodfate edition. Grades differ between temples, and many Taiwanese temples print none.
投身巖下飼於菟
須是還他大丈夫
捨己也應難再得
通行天下此人無
He threw himself below the cliff to feed the tiger.
Only a person of true courage could do this.
Such giving up of self is rare to find again.
Walk the whole world and you will not meet this man.
What this lot says
The verse recalls a Buddhist tale of a prince who gave his own body to a starving tigress, and it says only someone of great courage could do it. It also says you could search the world and not find this person again.
Read it as a measure of generosity, and keep yourself safe. The verse praises giving and admits how rare total giving is.
If you are deciding how much to carry for a family member or a team, give freely what you can afford to lose. Say plainly where the limit is, and ask for help before you reach it.
A lot is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
The story behind it
Rengui meets his sovereign (仁貴遇主)
Xue Rengui was a Tang general from a poor farming background who charged alone in white armor at the siege of Ansi in 645, and Emperor Taizong asked who he was and summoned him. He came to the emperor's notice by putting himself at risk, which fits a verse about giving of oneself.
Source: Wikipedia, Xue Rengui
Where this text comes from
This verse is a traditional temple text with no known author. No single original edition is known and wording differs between temples, so we compare named witnesses and record where they differ.
Míguāng (覓光) (the text shown above)
投身巖下飼於菟 / 須是還他大丈夫 / 捨己也應難再得 / 通行天下此人無
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Jiěqiān Gé (解籤閣)
投身巖下飼於菟 / 須是還他大丈夫 / 捨己也應難再得 / 通行天下此人無
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Goodfate (今日運勢), a related edition
投身岩下飼于菟 / 須是還他大丈夫 / 舍己也應難再得 / 通行天下此人無
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Where the sources differ
- Line 1 reads 投身岩下飼于菟 in the related Goodfate edition.
- Line 3 reads 舍己也應難再得 in the related Goodfate edition.
English translation and commentary are by Cast & Chart.