佛祖歷代通載 6.96

6.96

(19) Fotudeng from Tianzhu arrived in Luoyang. He claimed to be over one hundred years old. He regularly practiced breath cultivation to nourish himself, and could go many days without eating. He was adept at chanting spells to command ghosts and spirits. In his side there was an aperture plugged with cotton; when reading at night, he pulled out the cotton, and light shone forth to illuminate the room. Moreover, whenever he approached a stream, he would draw out his intestines and stomach through the aperture, wash them, and put them back into his abdomen. He could listen to the sound of bells and foretell good and bad fortune, which never failed to be extraordinarily accurate. Encountering the bandit rebellions in Luoyang, he lay concealed in the countryside to observe the changes of the times. At that time, Shi Le was garrisoned at Gebei and engaged in much slaughter. Deng, holding his tin staff, went to see Shi Le. Shi Le ordered him to demonstrate his spiritual arts. Deng took a bowl full of water and chanted over it; in a short moment, blue lotus flowers bloomed within the bowl, their dazzling colors radiant. Shi Le was filled with divine reverence from this and invited him into the army. Before long, Liu Yao sought battle to decide the contest. Shi Le's attendants thought it inadvisable, so Shi Le consulted Deng. Deng said, "The bells upon the wheel-spires of the stupa say: 'Xiuzhitilǐgang pugugutudang.' This is the Jie language. 'Xiuzhi' means the army; 'tilǐgang' means to go out; 'pugu' is Liu Yao's barbarian title; 'gutudang' means to capture. It means that when the army goes out, it will capture Liu Yao." He also ordered a young boy to purify himself and fast for three days, took sesame oil mixed with rouge, personally smeared it onto his own palm, and raised his hand to show it to the boy, which shone brightly. The boy said in alarm, "There are soldiers and horses! A fair-skinned man has his elbows bound with red silk." Deng said, "This is indeed Yao." Shi Le thereupon set forth for battle and indeed captured Liu Yao alive. Shi Le assumed the title of King of Zhao and performed the duties of emperor; he revered Deng all the more devotedly, and whenever he undertook an affair, he always consulted him before acting. When Shi Le passed away, his brother Jilong succeeded to the throne, moved the capital to Yecheng, and was even more devoted to serving Deng. He issued an order that Deng be clothed in damask and brocade and ride in an engraved carriage. When he was granted audience at court assemblies, the regular attendants and imperial censors all assisted in carrying his palanquin up to the hall, and the crown prince and noble lords supported him by the arms as he advanced. The master of ceremonies would call out, "The Great Monk!" and all who were seated stood up. He ordered Sikong Ji Nong to pay respects morning and evening. At that time, Zhi Daolin heard of it and said, "Does Master Deng consider Jilong to be like an ordinary seagull?" When the Jin army invaded Huai and Si, Jilong said angrily, "I venerated the Buddha and made offerings to the Saṃgha, yet on the contrary this has brought about bandits. The Buddha has no divine power!" Deng entered and had an audience with him, saying, "Your Majesty in a past life was a merchant; passing by a monastery in Jibin, you held a great assembly. Present at the assembly were six arhats, of whom I was one. An enlightened holy one said: 'When this donor's karmic retribution ends, he will become a rooster, and then will be king in the land of Jin.' Now that Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, is it not the result of having venerated the Buddha and made offerings to the Saṃgha? Boundary encroachments are common to any state; why resent and slander the Three Jewels and give rise to venomous thoughts?" Jilong repented and apologized, and then asked, "The Buddha-Dharma forbids killing. I hold power over life and death for the realm; I fear I am violating the Buddhist precepts." Deng said, "An emperor serves the Buddha through respect, frugality, benevolence, and endurance; manifestly exalting the path of the Dharma, not committing cruelty, and not harming the innocent. If there are people who do evil and do not repent after transformation, how can they not be punished? It is only that killing must not be indiscriminate and punishments must not be applied without pity." Minister of the Secretariat Zhang Li was wealthy and served the Buddha, yet his conduct was unlawful. Deng said, "Serving the Buddha lies in purity and freedom from desires. Although you lavishly adorn temples and pagodas, being relentlessly greedy brings no benefit." When he was about to pass away, he went to take leave of Jilong. Jilong said in shock, "The Great Monk is suddenly abandoning me; will calamity befall the state?" Deng said, "Coming into life and departing into death is the regular law of the Way. Length of life is fixed by destiny and cannot be increased or diminished. However, in the Way, perfection of practice is valued, and in virtue, diligence is valued. If virtuous practice is unblemished, though one dies, it is as if one lives; if entirely lacking these, what benefit is there even in living a thousand years? Yet there is something regrettable: the state set its mind on Buddhist principles, building monasteries and ordaining monks, and ought to have received blessings; yet governance has been harsh and cruel, and rewards and punishments have been utterly disordered, running specifically counter to the holy teaching, which has caused the state's mandate not to be prolonged." Jilong wailed and sobbed. Deng sat peacefully and passed away. Later, a śramaṇa came from Yongzhou and saw Deng entering the pass; he reported this to Jilong. Jilong ordered Deng's tomb opened to inspect it, and only a stone was found inside. Jilong was deeply troubled and sighed, "Shi is my surname. The Great Monk buried me and left; how could I last long?" Before long, the Shi clan was indeed destroyed. Deng ordained millions of disciples. Wherever he stayed, no one in the country dared to spit in his direction, and people frequently admonished one another, saying, "Do not harbor evil thoughts; the Great Monk knows you." His moral transformation moved living beings in this manner. From the time the Great Teaching arrived in the East, it flourished greatest with Deng.