律相感通傳 1.94

1.94

"He was a man of Baxi County in Mian Prefecture who had attained the second fruit. Sojourning in a village in Xinfan, he taught its people not to consume alcohol or meat. The villagers mostly believed in heterodox ways; they gave him alcohol and meat, urging him to eat, but he would not, so the villagers beat him. He was skilled in calligraphy; when the villagers requested it from him, he would not give it, and so was beaten again and treated without respect, whereupon he became distressed and irritated. Consequently, he made a vow, lay on his back in the grass outside the village, and pointed his brush toward the sky to write. Surprised, the villagers asked him about it. He replied, 'I am writing a scriptural text to let the heavens read it; mortals are not permitted to see it.' The devas of the upper realms brought down heavenly paper to meet his brush, and he thereupon transcribed one fascicle of the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, completing it only after seven days. The devas fashioned a jewelled canopy above to cover it, and subsequently no grass grew on that ground. Herdboys sheltering from the rain frequently gathered beneath it. The villagers, surprised that their clothes were dry, were told by them: 'We sheltered from the rain at the place where Master Gou wrote the sūtra.' Because of this, the villagers immediately came to have faith and reverence. Now they have placed a wooden fence around that place, disallowing any encroachment or defilement. On every vegetarian feast day, the villagers hold assemblies there."