樂邦遺稿 2.65

2.65

《冥祥記》云「南宋侍中王珉，時與一梵僧為方外友。僧每瞻珉風彩不常，輒語同輩曰：『我後世若得與此人作子，願亦足矣。』珉潛聞，一日戲之曰：『法師才高行峻，他日還與誰為子耶？』僧頷而不答，後日忽病亡。珉妻歲餘生一子，始能言，便解外國語。至於絕國奇貨，莫不識之。珉既審其前身，因小字之曰阿練，後遂為大名之人。」

The Record of Signs from the Unseen Realm says: 'Wang Min, Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Liu Song, was at that time a friend beyond worldly bounds with an Indian monk. Whenever the monk beheld Min's extraordinary demeanor, he would say to his peers: "In a future life, if I can become this man's son, my wish will be fulfilled." Min secretly heard of this, and one day playfully asked him: "Dharma Master, your talent is high and your conduct lofty; whose son will you become in another day?" The monk nodded and did not reply, and on a later day suddenly fell ill and died. Over a year later, Min's wife gave birth to a son. As soon as he could speak, he understood foreign languages, and as for rare goods from distant lands, there were none he did not recognize. Since Min was certain of his former incarnation, he gave him the child-name Alian; later he became a person of great renown.'