佛祖統紀 37.44

37.44

In the first year of the Chengsheng era, Tripiṭaka Master Paramārtha, on account of the disturbances of Hou Jing, boarded a ship to return west. A great wind blew him back to Guangzhou. Residing at Zhizhi Monastery, he translated the Awakening of Faith and the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya, completing fifty works in total by the Chen dynasty. The Emperor once wrote a book titled Jinlouzi, in which he said: 'Among monks, I esteem Dharma Master Yan of Zhaoti Monastery; among hermits, I esteem Tao Zhenbai of Huayang (Hongjing, posthumously named Master Zhenbai); among scholar-officials, I esteem Zhou Hongzheng of Runan (a renowned worthy of the Northern Zhou).' When Dharma Master Yan of Zhaoti Monastery was young, a physiognomist told him: 'You are clever, young boy, but your life will not be long.' The Master thereupon made a vow, entered the mountains, and recited the Prajñā Sūtra. After a long time, he saw a monk over ten feet tall who said to him: 'The merit of this sūtra is inconceivable.' Twenty years later, he met the previous physiognomist, who said in astonishment: 'What wonderful medicine have you obtained to have prolonged your life?' Yan said: 'I only uphold the sūtra.' Liu Jinggong rebelled and burned Wangcai County. The county magistrate lodged at a nearby temple. The common people brought an ox and wine as gifts. The magistrate tied the ox to a pillar, cleared away the Buddha images, and entertained guests in the hall. The ox suddenly untied itself, came down the steps, and bowed. The magistrate laughed loudly and ordered his attendants to slaughter it. After drinking and eating his fill, he lay drunk beneath the hall; he soon felt itching and pain all over his body, and scratching it turned into white leprosy. He died at the end of the year (Family Instructions of the Yan Clan).