佛祖統紀 28.16

28.16

The Daoist practitioner Ni was a native of Renhe. He abandoned his family to become a practitioner, built a small hermitage, and concentrated his mind on reciting the Buddha’s name. He wished to burn his body on behalf of all suffering sentient beings as an offering to the Buddhas. After a long time, three clusters of red wisteria grew in front of his sleeping couch. He said to the assembly, “If this wisteria withers, I shall depart for the west.” Half a month before his death, he gathered the assembly to recite the Buddha’s name, reaching ten thousand people. The evening before he burned his body, that ground suddenly radiated a golden light about half a foot high; when he cupped it with his hand, it floated upon his palm. He also said to the assembly, “When I burn my body, there will certainly be purple and blue clouds passing from the northeast to the southwest; this will be a sign of my rebirth.” Torches were then lit on all four sides, and he sat upright in their midst. Indeed, there was the auspicious sign of clouds of the two colors.