佛祖統紀 47.5

47.5

In the third month of the second year, Li Jue, the sheriff of Biyang in Tangzhou, encountered an invasion by the northern barbarians. Escorting a single servant, he fled on a solitary horse. At night they hid in an empty house by the roadside. Hearing the sound of a carriage passing by, he sent his servant to ask: 'Where are the Tangzhou bandits?' He saw that the person in the carriage was over ten cubits tall with a blue face; terrified, the servant returned. Jue immediately mounted his horse and caught up with him. Stepping forward, he paid homage and said: 'Jue has fled from the bandits to this place. Dare I ask what is carried in your carriage?' The man replied: 'These are the names of the dead who suffered calamity in Jingxi; the Heavenly Bureau has fixed the registers. You are Li Jue, and you are also among their number.' In great dread, Jue cried out: 'By what method can I avoid it? Please grant me your guidance.' The man said: 'If every morning you can recite [the name of] Mārīcī Bodhisattva seven hundred times and dedicate the merit toward the open sky to the sages and worthies of the Heavenly Bureau, the death register can be erased, and the peril of weapons can be avoided.' Just as Jue bowed in thanks, the driver galloped swiftly away. From then on, he recited and upheld it without ceasing, and taught it to others in turn; all were able to avoid calamities (printed by Jia Deren).