佛祖統紀 28.35

28.35

Mei Runeng was a native of Changshu. His official career reached the rank of County Magistrate. He had long set his aspiration on pure karma. Suddenly, he dreamt that a monk gave him one hundred sheets of paper, cut through to form the characters 'two' and 'eight' (二八). He asked Master Dongling Zhao about this. The master said: 'Two times eight is sixteen. Does this not refer to the Sūtra on the Sixteen Contemplations (Guanjing)?' Just then, a monk handed him the sūtra and suddenly disappeared. From then on, he recited the sūtra and the Buddha's name, adopting the name Wangsheng (Rebirth) to manifest his aspiration. Because Master Daosheng of Poshan in the county was crafting a sixteen-foot image of Amitābha, Runeng donated one million cash to ornament it, providing a vegetarian feast for its consecration and repentance. In the pond before the hall, a twin-headed white lotus sprouted with a hundred petals. In the winter of that year, Runeng died without illness. Soon after, Daosheng also died.