佛祖歷代通載 10.56

10.56

（十九　壬子）　釋尼智僊者。河東蒲坂劉氏女也。少出家有戒行。長通禪觀。時言吉凶成敗。事莫不奇驗。居般若寺。會文帝生於寺。方季夏盛暑。乳母遽扇之。帝寒甚。幾絕不能啼。左右大驚。尼就視之曰。兒天佛所祐。宜勿憂也。即舉之呼曰。那羅延。因以為小字抱詣太祖。語曰。兒來處絕倫。俗家穢雜不宜留。請為養之。太祖遂割宅為小門通寺以鬼委僊視育。後皇妣來抱。忽見兒為龍驚墮于地。僊失聲曰。奚為觸損我兒。令晚得天下。及帝稍長。僊密告之曰。汝後大貴。當自東方來。佛法時滅賴汝而興。及周武廢教僊隱其家。內著法衣戒行彌篤。至是帝果自山東來入為天子。大興釋氏。僊前此而卒。帝對群臣稱阿闍黎以為口實。又云。朕興由佛法。而好食麻豆。前身定從道人中來。少時在寺長育。至今樂聞鐘磬之聲。

(19. Renzi) The bhikṣuṇī Zhixian was a daughter of the Liu family of Puban in Hedong. She went forth from home at an early age and kept the precepts; as she grew up, she became thoroughly versed in Chan contemplation. When she occasionally spoke of good and bad fortune, success and failure, there was nothing that did not prove miraculously verified. She resided at Banruo Monastery. It happened that Emperor Wen was born in the monastery. It was the height of summer, and his wet nurse hastily fanned him. The emperor became extremely cold, nearly stopped breathing, and could not cry. The attendants were greatly alarmed. The nun went to inspect him and said, "This child is protected by Heaven and the Buddha; you should not worry." She immediately lifted him up, called him, and said, "Nārāyaṇa!" Therefore this was used as his childhood name. Carrying him, she went to Taizu and said, "Where this child comes from is beyond compare; secular households are unclean and mingled, and it is not fitting for him to stay there. I request to raise him." Taizu thereupon partitioned the residence to make a small gate connecting to the monastery, entrusting Zhixian to watch over and raise him. Later, the imperial mother came to hold him, and suddenly saw the child turned into a dragon; startled, she dropped him to the ground. Zhixian cried out, "Why did you startle and harm my child, causing him to gain the empire later than he should!" When the emperor grew slightly older, Zhixian secretly told him, "You will later become exceedingly noble; you shall come from the east. When the Buddha-Dharma is temporarily extinguished, it will rely on you to be revived." When Emperor Wu of the Zhou suppressed the teaching, Zhixian went into hiding in her home; she wore Dharma robes beneath her garments, and her precept conduct became even more devoted. By this time, the emperor indeed came from Shandong to enter and become the Son of Heaven, greatly reviving the Buddhist teachings. Zhixian had passed away prior to this. The emperor would speak of her as his ācārya to his ministers, using it as a topic of constant mention. He also said, "My rise was due to the Buddha-Dharma. I love to eat hemp and beans; in my previous life I must have come from among the men of the Way. In my youth I was raised in a monastery, and even now I love to hear the sound of bells and sounding stones."