The Zen Master and the Dying Daughter

When the daughter of a rich Japanese merchant fell very ill, she asked her father to request a famous Zen Master to visit her.

The Master demanded a fee of fifty gold ryo. This was a huge amount of gold. The merchant was furious but as his daughter was dying, he finally agreed.

The Master came and told the girl: 

"With these gold pieces we are going to build a new meditation hall in our Temple. Among the monks of the Monastery there are two or three baby Bodhisatvas, who in that hall will train and grow to maturity. Now if you want to, you can die in peace; your life has had some meaning."

And he abruptly left.

At once the girl began to recover...

This story is told by Trevor Leggett in "The Tiger's Cave"