宋高僧傳 24.41

24.41

Shi Wangming was a native of Xingyang. He resided at Guang'ai Temple in Luoyang. Through rigorous study of the vinaya and cautious safeguarding of the monastic rules to avoid criticism and disgrace, he rarely had any flaw. During the Shangyuan era, he traveled east to visit his parents. Reaching the road in Xingyang, he lodged at an inn. Just as he was untying his sack, removing his shoes, and preparing to strain water to wash away the dust, a monk arrived whose appearance seemed rather rough and coarse, and who was lodged in the same room with the Vinaya master. The newly arrived monk said to the innkeeper, "This poor monk has come from afar, exhausted, starving, and weak. Innkeeper, fill an earthen jar with good wine and buy half a shoulder of meat and fine grain; when the food arrives, I will pay the cost, so do not be slow." The innkeeper immediately complied and prepared everything. The monk ate and drank with nothing left over. The Vinaya master scolded him, saying, "Clad in the Dharma robes, you indulge in food and drink before laypeople; do you feel no shame?" The monk did not reply. In the first watch of the night, he called for water to wash his mouth, straightened his body, sat cross-legged, and slowly chanting in the Sanskrit tone, recited the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, beginning with the title and proceeding to "Thus have I heard" and so forth. Golden light emanated from both corners of the monk's mouth; those who heard him wept, and those who saw him gasped in wonder. The Vinaya master also felt admiration, thinking to himself: "That wine-and-meat monk is actually capable of reciting such a great scripture!" By the third watch, he could still be heard reciting the sūtra without interruption. As four cases of scrolls were almost completed, the radiance from his mouth grew increasingly fierce, pervading the courtyard and penetrating through the window lattices, illuminating both rooms. At first the Vinaya master did not know it was light and thought, "Why does that traveler not put out the lamp instead of wasting the innkeeper's oil?" When the Vinaya master arose to go to the latrine, he then peeked and saw the golden light emerging from the two corners of the monk's mouth. When reciting past the fifth case, the light gradually gathered back and returned into the monk's mouth. As the fifth watch approached, finishing the recitation of the sixth case, the monk lay down to sleep. Shortly thereafter, at daybreak, the Vinaya master came weeping, cast his whole body to the ground, and begged with grief to repent for his sin of "disparaging and slandering a sage." The Vinaya master rejoiced at encountering an extraordinary person, afterwards exerted himself with even greater diligence, and ultimately achieved high renown; the place of his death is unknown.