佛祖統紀 47.29

47.29

In the twenty-sixth year: Zhang Jiucheng became Prefect of Wenzhou. Jiucheng had been exiled to the Nan'an Army for fourteen years, staying in monastic lodgings in Hengpu; daily he discussed the scriptures and wrote books to ease his mind, once saying: 'The Six Classics are all the wondrous Dharma.' In the ninth month, Vice Minister of Rites Wu Bingxin died. Early in the Shaoxing era, the chief minister of the time shunned speaking of military affairs and banished Bingxin as a partisan. He thereupon returned to the south of Siming city, built a hermitage, and sat in meditation. He constructed a coffin and slept in it at night; at the fifth watch he had a boy knock on the coffin and sing: 'Old Man Wu Xin, come away home! There is no peace in the three realms, it is not a place to stay. In the Western Pure Land there is the lotus womb; come away home!' Hearing the singing, he would immediately rise to meditate and chant. After a long while, Minister Qin [Hui] died, and he was summoned to become Vice Minister of Rites. At that time state expenditures were depleted; Bingxin requested to sell ordination certificates to enrich the state, taking the opportunity to speak against the Qin faction, but was soon impeached; on the pretext of flattering the Buddha to seek blessings, he was sent out to govern Changzhou. Soon after, he was summoned again. Arriving at the courier station in Xiaoshan, he instructed his family to listen quietly, and all heard the sound of heavenly music. He immediately said: 'In the pure realm, losing mindfulness brought me here. Since the golden platform has arrived, I must depart.' Having spoken, he passed away. In the tenth month, an imperial decree ordered Zonggao, who had been transferred closer to Meizhou, to be restored to his secular clothing and released to return. In the eleventh month, a decree ordered him to reside at Mount King Aśoka in Mingzhou.