續高僧傳 28.30

28.30

Shi Yisu: It is not known where he was from. When the Tang dynasty first began its rule, he traveled to and stayed at the Yanglu household in Meiquan Township, south of Liquan County in Yongzhou. They constantly made offerings to him. Pure, frugal, and possessing few desires, he made the chanting of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra his sole practice, reciting it day and night in succession several thousand times. In the beginning of the Zhenguan era, nearing the end of his life due to illness, he left instructions to his friend Huikuo, saying: "Lately, although I have been reciting the scripture, my wish was to produce a spiritual sign so as to engender the good roots of faith and devotion among the ignorant populace. After my body dies, do not enclose it in a coffin; bury my exposed remains. After ten years, you may dig them up. If the faculty of the tongue has completely rotted, know that I had no genuine upholding [of the scripture]; if it still remains intact, you must inform the clergy and laity to erect a stūpa for me to display this spiritual response." When he finished speaking, he passed away. They then buried him according to his instructions. In the eleventh year of the Zhenguan era, Kuo and various acquaintances went to the tomb and excavated it. The flesh of his body had completely dissolved, and only his tongue had not decayed. The men and women of the whole county all revered him, and those who recited and upheld [the scripture] doubled their usual devotion. They then placed his tongue in a reliquary box and built a brick stūpa for it on the southern bank of the Gangu [River], north of Yanglu Village. Those who knew of it venerated him all the more, and faith, reverence, chanting, and recitation grew even greater. Furthermore, there was Shi Hedan of the Shi Village, south of the Fushui [River] in Fenggu Township, southwest of the capital. In his youth, he harbored virtuous thoughts, constantly reciting the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra and practicing the comfortable practices. Compassion was in his heart, and he did not ride on livestock. With an unburdened and restrained mind, he gained a minor official post as a clerk. Walking back and forth between the capital ministries, he maintained the demeanor of chanting. He was still afraid that if he met acquaintances on the road, exchanging conventional pleasantries would disrupt his recitation. Therefore, whenever he walked, he invariably took small pathways and side tracks, lowering his breath, keeping a pleasant countenance, and continuing his contemplative focus, never showing fatigue. When he died, a miraculous fragrance was perceived, filling the village lanes. Relatives and strangers alike marveled at it, and they buried him. Ten years later, his wife passed away, and when they exhumed his corpse, the faculty of his tongue was fresh and bright, while the rest was entirely decayed. They then clearly marked and buried it separately.