高僧傳 11.46

11.46

Shi Jingdu was a native of Yuhang in Wuxing. In his youth he was fond of hunting, and once shot a pregnant deer, causing it to miscarry. The mother deer, enduring the pain, still approached the ground to lick its fawn. Du then attained an awakening of heart; he consequently broke his bow, snapped his arrows, entered the monastic order, and ate vegetarian food. He recited over three hundred thousand words of sūtras. He often dwelt alone in mountains and marshes, sitting in dhyāna and practicing recitation. Whenever there was a fast gathering in the district, he would light nine lamps on his body and remain upright until dawn as an offering, doing so for many years. Later, he suddenly told his disciples, "Prepare fragrant water for bathing; I shall expound several thousand sections of Dharma, admonishing you concerning the causes and effects of birth and death." Having finished speaking, he suddenly passed away. The sound of flutes and drums and the smoke of incense arrived from the sky. Several dozen companions at the time all heard and saw this.