高僧傳 1.24

1.24

Although Hao heard the correct Dharma, his dark and violent nature could not overcome its cruelty. Later, he ordered imperial guard soldiers to enter the rear palace to tend the garden, where in the ground they discovered a golden image several feet tall and presented it to Hao. Hao had it placed in an impure privy and poured foul waste over it, laughing with his ministers and making sport of it. In a brief moment, his whole body swelled greatly, his private parts were especially painful, and his howling and wailing reached up to heaven. The Grand Astrologer divined and said that it was caused by offending a great deity. Hao immediately prayed and sacrificed at various shrines, but was never cured. A palace lady who had previously practiced the Dharma took the opportunity to inquire after his health, saying, "Has Your Majesty sought blessings in a Buddhist monastery?" Hao raised his head and asked, "Is the Buddha deity great?" The palace lady said, "The Buddha is a great deity." Hao's mind thereupon understood the full import of her words. The palace lady then welcomed the image and placed it in the palace hall, washed it with fragrant water several tens of times, burned incense, and repented. Hao knocked his head against his pillow, confessing his own offenses. After a moment the pain subsided. He dispatched a messenger to the monastery to inquire after the monks and invite Senghui to preach the Dharma; Senghui followed the messenger and entered immediately. Hao asked in full detail the causes of sin and blessing; Senghui analyzed and expounded them for him, his phrasing exceedingly refined and essential. Hao, already possessing talented understanding, was delighted and greatly pleased, and thereupon requested to inspect the śramaṇa precepts. Because the text of the precepts is secret and prohibited and must not be lightly revealed, Senghui took the one hundred and thirty-five vows of the *Benye* [jing] (*Sūtra of Original Karma*) and divided them into two hundred and fifty matters: whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, all are vows for sentient beings. When Hao saw that the compassionate vows were wide and universal, he increased his good intentions all the more; he immediately received the five precepts from Senghui, and within ten days his illness was cured. Thereupon he had Senghui's dwelling place further renovated, and proclaimed to the imperial clan that none should fail to venerate it. While at the court of Wu, Senghui frequently preached the correct Dharma; because Hao's nature was fierce and crude, unable to grasp subtle meanings, Senghui only narrated proximate events of karmic retribution to open his mind.