佛祖統紀 33.44

33.44

十王供　世傳。唐道明和上。神遊地府見十王分治亡人。因傳名世間。人終多設此供。十王名字。藏典傳記可考者六。閻羅五官（二名見三長齋引提謂經）平等（華嚴感應傳。郭神亮為使者。追至平等王所。因誦若人欲了知四句偈得放回）泰山（譯經圖紀。沙門法炬譯金貢泰山贖罪經孝經援神契泰山天帝孫主召人魂）初江（夷堅志。池州郭生夢入冥府。王揖坐謂曰。我是西門王郎。冥司錄我忠孝正直不害物。得作初江王。一紀）秦廣（夷堅志。南劍陳生既死。其弟之女見二鬼導至宮殿曰秦廣王也。王謂女曰。欲救伯苦。可轉八師經。女寤家人來得經。請僧誦千遍。兄夢弟來謝曰。已獲生天）歐陽修夢十王（見通塞志嘉祐六年）無常鐘　智者臨終語維那言。人命終時得聞鐘磬增其正念。惟長惟久氣盡為期（見本紀此言臨終之功）南山事鈔云。病者將終打無常磬。增一阿含經云若打鐘時一切惡道諸苦並得停止（本經有鳴鐘法度）付法藏經云。罽賓王以好殺死作千頭魚。劍輪遶身隨斫隨生。有羅漢充維那。依時打鐘。聞聲之時劍輪住空遣信白令長打。過七日已受苦即止（此言終後之驗）南唐先主。因殺降人囚陰獄。唯聞鐘聲則暫息苦。入冥者見之。以報後主。乃為造一鐘於清涼寺。鐫其上云薦孝高皇帝脫幽出厄（通塞志晉少帝時）斯為近證。

Offerings to the Ten Kings: Tradition relates that during the Tang dynasty the preceptor Daoming traveled in spirit to the underworld, where he saw the Ten Kings governing the deceased separately. From this, the names were transmitted to the world, and upon a person's death, many people arrange these offerings. Among the names of the Ten Kings, six can be verified from the scriptural canon and biographical records: King Yama and King of the Five Offices (these two names are seen in the Three Long Fasts citing the Tiwei jing); King of Impartiality (Huayan ganying zhuan: Guo Shenliang was summoned by emissaries to the presence of the King of Impartiality, where he was released and sent back because he recited the four-line verse 'If a person wishes to understand fully...'); King of Mount Tai (Yijing tuji: the śramaṇa Faju translated the Jingong Taishan shuzui jing; Xiaojing yuanshenqi: Mount Tai, grandson of the Heavenly Emperor, governs the summoning of human souls); King of the First River (Yijian zhi: Scholar Guo of Chizhou dreamed he entered the underworld, where the king bowed, offered him a seat, and told him, 'I am King Lang of Ximen. The underworld recorded that I was loyal, filial, upright, and did not harm living beings, and thus I attained the position of King of the First River for one cycle [of twelve years]'); and King of Qin Guang (Yijian zhi: After Scholar Chen of Nanjian died, his younger brother's daughter saw two ghosts lead her to a palace, saying, 'This is King Qin Guang.' The king told the girl, 'If you wish to relieve your uncle's suffering, you can recite the Bashi jing.' When the girl awoke, the family obtained the sūtra and invited monks to recite it a thousand times; the elder brother later appeared in a dream to thank his younger brother, saying that he had already attained rebirth in heaven). Ouyang Xiu also dreamed of the Ten Kings (seen in the Treatise on Prosperity and Decline, sixth year of the Jiayou era). Impermanence Bell: When Master Zhizhe was approaching his end, he said to the karmadāna, 'When a person's life ends, hearing the sound of the bell or chime increases right mindfulness; it should be prolonged, continuing until the breath ceases' (seen in the Basic Annals; this refers to the efficacy at the moment of passing). The Nanshan shichao states: 'When a sick person is about to pass away, strike the chime of impermanence.' The Ekottarika Āgama states: 'When the bell is struck, all the sufferings in the evil destinies cease altogether' (the root sūtra contains the method and regulation for sounding the bell). The Fu fazang jing states: 'Because the king of Jibin was fond of killing, upon dying he became a thousand-headed fish. Sword-wheels encircled its body, slashing it repeatedly as it regenerated. An arhat serving as karmadāna struck the bell at the appointed times; whenever the fish heard the sound, the sword-wheels halted in mid-air. The fish sent a message pleading for the striking to be prolonged; after seven days, its suffering ended' (this refers to proof after death). The First Sovereign of the Southern Tang, because he executed surrendered troops, was imprisoned in the dark purgatory; only when hearing the sound of a bell did his suffering temporarily cease. Someone who entered the underworld saw this and reported it to the Later Sovereign, who then cast a bell for Qingliang Monastery, engraving upon it: 'Dedicated to Emperor Xiaogao to be freed from darkness and delivered from distress' (Treatise on Prosperity and Decline, under Emperor Shao of Jin). This is a recent verification.