高僧傳 9.5

9.5

Zhu Fotudeng was a man of the Western Regions, originally surnamed Bo. He underwent pravrajyā in his youth. Pure and truthful, he devoted himself to learning, reciting several million words of sūtras and being skilled in comprehending the meaning of the texts. Although he had not read the Confucian texts and histories of this land, when debating doubtful and difficult points with various scholars, he agreed with them as smoothly as two halves of a tally, and none could confound him. He said of himself: 'I twice went to Jibin to receive instructions from famous masters, and throughout the Western Regions all said I had attained the Way.' In the fourth year of the Yongjia reign era of Emperor Huai of Jin, he came to Luoyang with the resolve to propagate the Great Dharma. He was adept at reciting divine dhāraṇīs and could command ghosts and spirits. When he smeared his palm with sesame oil mixed with rouge, events a thousand li away were clearly seen in his palm as if face to face; he could also make those keeping pure fasts see them. Moreover, he could predict events by listening to the sound of bells, never failing to be verified. He wished to establish a temple in Luoyang, but Liu Yao invaded and raided the imperial precinct of Luoyang, throwing the capital into chaos, so Deng's intention to establish a temple came to nothing. He thereupon hid in the marshy wilds to observe the changes of the world.