[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [神僧傳](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064) › 1.21 # 神僧傳 1.21 神僧傳 1.21 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.21.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064.1.21.1) 佛圖澄者。 西域人也。 本姓白氏。 少出家清真務學。 誦經數百萬言。 以永嘉四年來適洛陽。 志弘大法。 善念神呪。 能役使鬼物。 以麻油雜臙脂塗掌。 千里外事皆徹見掌中如對面焉。 亦能令潔齋者見。 又聽鈴音以言事無不效驗。 欲於洛陽立寺。 值劉曜寇洛臺帝京擾亂。 澄立寺之志遂不果。 乃潛身草野以觀世變。 時石勒屯兵葛陂。 專以殺戮為威沙門遇害者甚眾。 澄憫念蒼生欲以道化勒。 於是杖策到軍門。 勒大將郭黑略素奉法。 澄即投止黑略家。 黑略從受五戒。 崇弟子之禮。 黑略後從勒征伐。 輒預剋勝負。 勒疑而問曰。 孤不覺卿有出眾智謀。 而每知行軍吉凶何也。 黑略曰。 將軍天挺神武幽靈所助。 有一沙門知術非常。 云將軍當略有區夏。 已應為師。 臣前後所白皆其言也。 勒喜曰。 天賜也。 召澄問曰。 佛道有何靈驗。 澄知勒不達深理。 止可以道術為教。 因言曰。 至道雖遠亦可以近事為證。 即取器盛水燒香呪之。 須臾生青蓮華。 光色耀目。 勒由此信伏。 澄因諫曰。 夫王者德化洽於宇內。 則四靈表瑞。 政弊道銷。 則彗孛見於上。 恒象著見休咎隨行。 斯乃古今之常理。 天人之明戒。 勒甚悅之。 凡應被誅殘。 蒙其利益者十有八九。 於是中州之胡皆願奉佛。 時有痼疾世莫能治者。 澄為醫療應時疾瘳。 勒自葛陂還河北過枋頭。 入夜欲斫營。 澄語黑略曰。 須臾賊至。 可令公知。 果如其言。 有備故不敗。 勒欲試澄。 夜冠冑衣甲執刃而坐。 遣人告澄云。 夜來不知大將軍所在。 使人始至。 未及有言。 澄逆問曰。 平居無寇何故夜嚴。 勒益敬之。 勒後因忿欲害諸道士并欲苦澄。 澄乃避至黑略舍。 語弟子曰。 若將軍使至問吾所在者。 報云。 不知所之。 使人尋至覓澄不得。 使還報勒。 勒驚曰。 吾有惡意向聖人。 聖人捨我去矣。 通夜不寢思欲見澄。 澄知勒意悔。 明旦造勒。 勒曰。 昨夜何行。 澄曰。 公有怒心。 昨故權避。 公今改意是以敢來。 勒大笑曰。 道人謬耳。 襄國城塹水源在城西北五里團丸祠下。 其水暴竭。 勒問澄。 何以致水。 澄曰。 今當勅龍。 勒字世龍。 謂澄嘲己。 答曰。 正以龍不能致水。 故相問耳。 澄曰。 此誠言非戲也。 水泉之源必有神龍居之。 往以勅語告之水必可得。 乃與弟子法首等數人至泉源上。 其源故處久已乾燥。 坼如車轍。 從者心疑。 恐水難得。 澄坐繩床燒安息香。 呪願數百言。 如此三日水泫然微流。 有一小龍。 長五六寸許。 隨水來出。 諸道士競往視之。 澄曰。 龍有毒勿臨其上。 有頃水大至隍塹皆滿。 澄閑坐歎曰。 後二日當有一小人驚動此下。 既而襄國人薛合有二子。 既小且驕。 輕侮鮮卑奴。 奴忿抽刀刺殺其弟。 執兄于室以刀擬心。 若人入室便欲加手。 謂薛合曰送我還國我活汝兒。 不然共死。 於此內外驚愕莫敢往觀。 勒乃自往視之。 謂薛合曰。 送奴以全卿子誠為善事。 此法一聞方為後害。 卿且寬情。 國有常憲命人取奴。 奴遂殺兒而死。 鮮卑段波攻勒。 其眾甚盛。 勒懼問澄。 澄曰。 昨寺鈴鳴云。 明旦食時當擒段波。 勒登城望波軍不見前後。 失色曰。 軍行地傾。 波豈可獲是公安我辭耳。 更遣夔安問澄。 澄曰。 已獲波矣。 時城北伏兵出遇波執之。 澄勸勒宥波遣還本國。 勒從之。 卒獲其用。 時劉載已死。 載從弟曜篡襲偽位。 稱元光初。 光初八年曜遣從弟中山王岳。 將兵攻勒。 勒遣石虎率步騎拒之。 大戰洛西。 岳敗保石梁塢虎堅柵守之。 澄與弟子自官寺至中寺。 始入寺門。 歎曰。 劉岳可憫。 弟子法祚問其故。 澄曰。 昨亥時岳已被執。 果如所言。 光初十一年曜自率兵攻洛陽。 > Fotudeng was a native of the Western Regions. His original surname was Bo. He renounced household life in his youth, was pure and devoted to learning, and recited several million words of sūtras. In the fourth year of the Yongjia era, he came to Luoyang, resolved to propagate the great Dharma. He was adept at chanting divine incantations and could command ghosts and spirits. By mixing sesame oil with rouge and smearing it on his palms, affairs from a thousand li away could be clearly seen in his palms as if face to face; he could also enable those who observed fasting and purifications to see. Moreover, when he listened to the sound of bells to pronounce on affairs, he was never without verification. He wished to establish a monastery in Luoyang, but encountered Liu Yao's invasion of the Luoyang terraces, plunging the imperial capital into chaos. Deng's aspiration to establish a monastery was consequently not fulfilled, so he concealed himself among the grasses and wilds to observe the changes of the world. At that time, Shi Le was garrisoning troops at Gebei, relying solely on slaughter as his authority, and many śramaṇas were killed. Pitying the living beings, Deng wished to transform Shi Le through the Way. Thereupon, resting on his staff, he went to the army gates. Le's senior general Guo Heilüe had long revered the Dharma; Deng immediately took shelter at Heilüe's home. Heilüe received the five precepts from him and treated him with the courtesy due to a master. Later, when Heilüe accompanied Le on military campaigns, he foresaw victory and defeat every time. Le grew suspicious and asked, 'I have not noticed that you possess outstanding wisdom or stratagems, yet you always know the fortune of the army's movements; why is that?' Heilüe said, 'The General is endowed by Heaven with divine martial prowess, aided by the unseen spirits. There is a śramaṇa whose knowledge and arts are extraordinary; he says that the General will conquer the Central Plain and that he should already be your master. Everything I have reported before was his words.' Le was delighted and said, 'A gift from Heaven!' He summoned Deng and asked, 'What spiritual efficacy does the Buddha's Way possess?' Deng knew that Le did not comprehend profound principles and could only be instructed through arts of the Way. He therefore said, 'Although the Supreme Way is remote, it can also be verified by near matters.' He immediately took a vessel, filled it with water, burned incense, and chanted incantations over it. In an instant, blue lotuses grew forth, their radiant colors dazzling the eyes. Le thereby believed and submitted. Deng then admonished him, saying, 'When the virtuous transformation of a king permeates the universe, the four auspicious beasts manifest good omens; when governance decays and the Way declines, comets appear above. Constellations manifest clearly, and good and ill fortune follow one's actions. This is the constant principle of past and present, the clear warning between Heaven and humanity.' Le was exceedingly pleased. Of all those who were due to be executed or maimed, eight or nine out of ten benefited from his intervention. Thereupon, the northern tribesmen of the Central Plains all wished to revere the Buddha. At that time, there were chronic illnesses that the world could not cure; Deng treated them with medicine, and they were healed in response. When Le returned north of the Yellow River from Gebei, passing through Fangtou, \[the enemy\] intended to raid his camp at night. Deng said to Heilüe, 'The bandits will arrive in a moment; you may inform the Duke.' It turned out just as he had said; because they were prepared, they were not defeated. Le wished to test Deng; at night, wearing a helmet and armor and holding a blade, he sat and sent someone to tell Deng, 'Tonight we do not know where the Senior General is.' The messenger had just arrived and had not yet spoken when Deng preemptively asked, 'In peacetime without bandits, why are you heavily armed at night?' Le respected him all the more. Later, in an anger, Le wished to harm all the religious practitioners and also make Deng suffer. Deng then avoided him and went to Heilüe's residence, telling his disciples, 'If the General's messenger arrives and asks where I am, reply that you do not know where I went.' The messenger arrived shortly, but could not find Deng. The messenger returned and reported to Le. Le was startled and said, 'I harbored ill intentions toward the holy man; the holy man has abandoned me and left!' He did not sleep all night, longing to see Deng. Deng knew that Le regretted his actions, and the next morning he visited Le. Le said, 'Where did you go last night?' Deng said, 'You had wrath in your heart, so yesterday I temporarily avoided you. Now you have changed your mind, and for that reason I dared to come.' Le laughed heartily and said, 'The man of the Way is mistaken!' The water source for the moat of Xiangguo city was five li northwest of the city, below the Tuanwan Shrine. The water suddenly dried up. Le asked Deng, 'How can water be brought forth?' Deng said, 'Now I must command the dragon.' Le's courtesy name was Shilong ('Generational Dragon'); thinking Deng was mocking him, he replied, 'It is precisely because the dragon cannot bring forth water that I asked you.' Deng said, 'These are sincere words, not in jest. In the source of the spring, there must be a divine dragon dwelling; if we go and address it with a command, water can certainly be obtained.' He then went to the spring source with several disciples, including Fashou. The old site of the source had long been parched, cracked like cart ruts. His followers doubted in their hearts, fearing that water would be difficult to obtain. Deng sat on a rope bed, burned benzoin incense, and chanted incantations and prayers of several hundred words. After three days like this, water trickled out faintly. There was a small dragon, five or six inches long, that emerged following the water. The practitioners vied to go look at it. Deng said, 'The dragon has venom; do not approach it.' Shortly afterward, water arrived in great volume, filling the moats completely. Deng sat at leisure and sighed, 'In two days, a petty person will cause a disturbance here.' Soon after, a man of Xiangguo named Xue He had two sons, who were both young and arrogant. They insulted a Xianbei slave; the slave was enraged, drew a knife, and stabbed the younger brother to death. He seized the elder brother in the room and held the knife to his heart; if anyone entered the room, he would strike. He said to Xue He, 'Send me back to my state and I will let your son live; otherwise, we will die together.' At this, everyone inside and outside was terrified and dared not go to look. Le went in person to see it, and said to Xue He, 'Sending the slave back to preserve your son is indeed a good deed, but once this precedent is known, it will create future harm. Bear your grief for now; the state has standard laws.' He ordered men to seize the slave. The slave thereupon killed the boy and died. Duan Bo of the Xianbei attacked Le; his forces were very strong. Le was terrified and asked Deng. Deng said, 'Yesterday the monastery bell rang, saying, "Tomorrow at mealtime, Duan Bo will be captured."' Le mounted the wall to look at Bo's army; unable to see its front or rear, he paled and said, 'As the army marches, the earth tilts. How can Bo be captured? These are just words to comfort me.' He again sent Kui An to ask Deng. Deng said, 'Bo has already been captured.' At that time, ambushers north of the city emerged, encountered Bo, and captured him. Deng advised Le to pardon Bo and send him back to his native state; Le complied, and eventually obtained his service. At that time, Liu Zai had died; Zai's cousin Yao usurped the illegitimate throne and proclaimed the first year of the Guangchu era. In the eighth year of Guangchu, Yao sent his cousin Yue, King of Zhongshan, leading troops to attack Le. Le sent Shi Hu leading infantry and cavalry to resist him. A great battle was fought west of Luoyang; Yue was defeated and held Shiliangwu, while Hu built strong palisades to besiege him. Deng, accompanied by his disciples, was going from the Official Monastery to the Middle Monastery; just as he entered the monastery gate, he sighed and said, 'Liu Yue is pitiable!' His disciple Fazuo asked the reason, and Deng said, 'Yesterday at the hai hour, Yue was already captured.' It turned out just as he had said. In the eleventh year of Guangchu, Yao personally led troops to attack Luoyang. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.21.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064.1.21.2) 勒欲自往拒曜。 內外僚佐無不必諫。 勒以訪澄。 澄曰。 相輪鈴音云。 秀支替戾岡僕谷拘禿當。 此羯語也。 秀支替戾岡出也。 僕谷劉曜胡位也。 拘禿當捉也。 此言軍出捉得曜也。 時徐光聞澄此言。 苦勸勒行。 勒乃留長子石弘。 共澄以鎮襄國。 自率中軍步騎。 直指洛陽城。 兩陣纔交曜軍大潰。 曜馬沒水中。 石堪生擒之送勒。 澄時以物塗掌。 觀之見有大眾中縛一人。 朱絲約其肘。 因以告弘。 當爾之時正生擒曜也。 曜平之後。 勒乃僣稱趙天王行皇帝事。 改元建平。 是歲晉成帝咸和五年也。 勒登位已後事澄彌篤。 時石葱叛。 其年澄戒勒曰。 今年葱中有蟲食必害人。 可令百姓無食葱也。 勒頒告境內慎無食葱。 到八月石葱果走。 勒益加尊重。 有事必諮而後行。 號大和尚。 石虎有子名斌。 後勒以為兒。 勒愛之甚重。 忽暴病而亡。 已涉二日。 勒曰。 朕聞虢太子死扁鵲能生。 大和尚國之神人。 可急往告。 必能致福。 澄乃取楊枝呪之。 須臾能起。 有頃平復。 由是勒諸稚子多在佛寺中養之。 每至四月八日。 勒躬自詣寺灌佛為兒發願。 至建平四年四月天靜無風。 而塔上一鈴獨鳴。 澄謂眾曰。 鈴音云。 國有大喪不出今年矣。 是歲七月勒死。 太子弘襲位。 少時虎廢弘自立。 遷都于鄴。 稱元建武。 傾心事澄有重於勒。 澄時止鄴城內中寺。 遣弟子法常北至襄國。 弟子法佐從襄國還。 相遇在梁基城下共宿。 對車夜談言及和尚。 比旦各去。 法佐至始入覲澄。 澄逆笑曰。 昨夜爾與法常交車共說汝師耶。 先民有言。 不曰敬乎幽而不改。 不曰慎乎獨而不怠。 幽獨者敬慎之本。 爾不識乎。 佐愕然愧懺。 於是國人每共相語曰。 莫起惡心和尚知汝。 及澄之所在。 無敢向其方面涕唾便利者。 時太子石邃有二子在襄國。 澄語邃曰。 小阿彌比當得疾。 可往迎之。 邃即馳信往視。 果已得疾。 太醫殷騰及外國道士。 自言能治。 澄告弟子法牙曰。 正使聖人復出不愈此疾。 況此等乎。 後三日果死。 石邃荒酒將圖為逆。 謂內竪曰。 和尚神通倘發吾謀。 明日來者當先除之。 澄月望將入覲虎。 謂弟子僧惠曰。 昨夜天神呼我曰。 明日若入還勿過人。 我倘有所過汝當止我。 澄常入必過邃。 邃知澄入要候甚苦。 澄將上南臺。 僧惠引衣。 澄曰。 事不得止。 坐未安便起。 邃固留不住。 所謀遂差。 還寺歎曰。 太子作亂其形將成。 欲言難言。 欲忍難忍。 乃因事從容箴虎。 虎終不解。 俄而事發。 方悟澄言。 後郭黑略將兵征長安北山羌。 墮羌狄中。 時澄在堂上坐。 弟子法常在側。 澄慘然改容曰。 郭公陷敵。 令眾僧呪願。 澄又自呪願。 須臾更曰。 若東南出者活餘向則困。 復更呪願。 有頃曰脫矣。 後月餘日黑略還說。 墮羌圍中東南走馬乏。 正遇帳下人推馬與之曰。 公乘此小人乘公馬濟與不濟任命也。 黑略得其馬故獲免。 推驗日時正是澄呪願時也。 偽大司馬燕公石斌虎。 以為幽州牧鎮。 群兇湊聚因以肆暴。 澄戒虎曰。 天神昨夜言。 疾收馬還。 至秋齊當癱爛。 虎不解此語。 即勅諸處收馬送還。 其秋有人譖斌於虎。 虎召斌鞭之三百。 殺其所生母齊氏。 虎彎弓捻矢。 自視行斌罰罰輕。 虎乃手殺五百。 澄諫曰。 心不可縱死不可生。 禮不親殺以傷恩也。 何有天子手行罰乎。 虎乃止。 後晉軍出淮泗隴北瓦城。 皆被侵逼。 三方告急。 人情危擾。 虎乃瞋曰。 吾之奉佛而更致外寇。 佛無神矣。 澄明旦早入。 虎以事問澄。 澄因讓虎曰。 王過去世經為大商主。 至罽賓寺嘗供。 大會中有六十羅漢。 吾此身亦預斯會。 時得道人謂予曰。 此主人命盡當更雞身後王晉地。 > Shi Le wished to go in person to resist Liu Yao. None of his officials and advisors, inside or outside \[the court\], failed to remonstrate with him. Le consulted Fotudeng about it. Deng said: "The bell on the stūpa finial says: 'Xiuzhitiligang pugukutudang.' This is the Jie language. Xiuzhitiligang means 'the army marches forth'. Pugu is Liu Yao's barbarian title. Kutudang means 'to capture'. This means that when the army marches forth, it will capture Yao." At that time Xu Guang heard these words of Deng's and earnestly urged Le to go. Le then left his eldest son Shi Hong together with Deng to guard Xiangguo, while he himself led the infantry and cavalry of the central army directly toward the city of Luoyang. No sooner had the two battle lines engaged than Yao's army suffered a great rout. Yao's horse sank in the water, and Shi Kan captured him alive and sent him to Le. At that time, Deng smeared a substance on his palm; looking into it, he saw a man bound in the midst of a great host, his elbows tied with red silk. He then told this to Hong. At that very moment, Yao was indeed captured alive. After Yao was subdued, Le illegitimately assumed the title of Heavenly King of Zhao and performed the affairs of an Emperor, changing the reign era to Jianping. This year was the fifth year of the Xianhe era of Emperor Cheng of Jin. After Le ascended the throne, he served Deng with ever greater devotion. At that time Shi Cong rebelled. In that year, Deng warned Le, saying: "This year there are worms in the scallions; eating them will surely harm people. You should order the common people not to eat scallions." Le issued an announcement throughout his territory strictly forbidding the eating of scallions. When it came to the eighth month, Shi Cong indeed fled. Le respected \[Deng\] all the more; whenever there was an affair, he always consulted him before acting, calling him the Great Upādhyāya. Shi Hu had a son named Bin, whom Le later adopted as his own son. Le loved him very deeply. Suddenly he fell violently ill and died; two days had already passed. Le said: "I have heard that when the Crown Prince of Guo died, Bian Que was able to bring him back to life. The Great Upādhyāya is a divine man of the state; we must urgently go and report this to him, and he will surely be able to bring about good fortune." Deng then took a willow branch and chanted incantations over it. In an instant \[Bin\] was able to rise, and after a short while he recovered. Because of this, Le's young children were mostly raised in Buddhist monasteries. Every year on the eighth day of the fourth month, Le would go in person to the monastery to bathe the Buddha and make vows on behalf of his sons. In the fourth month of the fourth year of Jianping, the sky was calm and windless, yet a single bell atop the stūpa rang on its own. Deng said to the assembly: "The sound of the bell says: 'The state will have a great mourning, not beyond this year.'" In the seventh month of that year, Le died. Crown Prince Hong succeeded to the throne. Before long, Hu deposed Hong and set himself up \[as ruler\], moving the capital to Ye and designating the reign era as Jianwu. He devoted his heart to serving Deng with even greater reverence than Le had. At that time, Deng resided in the Central Monastery within the city of Ye. He dispatched his disciple Fachang north to Xiangguo, while his disciple Fazuo was returning from Xiangguo. They met below Liangji Castle and lodged together, talking through the night across their carriages and mentioning the Upādhyāya. At dawn they parted. When Fazuo arrived, he first went in to pay respects to Deng. Deng met him with a smile and said: "Last night, did you and Fachang park your carriages together and talk about your master? The ancients had a saying: 'Is it not said that one must be reverent when hidden from view without altering, and cautious when alone without becoming slack?' Being hidden and alone is the root of reverence and caution; did you not know this?" Zuo was astonished and felt ashamed, confessing his fault. Thereupon, the people of the state would always say to one another: "Do not give rise to evil thoughts; the Upādhyāya knows you." Wherever Deng was, none dared to spit, blow their nose, or relieve themselves facing his direction. At that time, the Crown Prince Shi Sui had two sons in Xiangguo. Deng said to Sui: "Little Ami will soon fall ill; you should go and fetch him." Sui immediately dispatched a courier to go and look; \[the child\] had indeed already fallen ill. The imperial physician Yin Teng and a foreign Daoshi claimed that they could cure it. Deng told his disciple Faya: "Even if a sage were to appear again, he could not cure this illness, how much less such people as these!" After three days, he indeed died. Shi Sui, indulged in drink, was planning rebellion. He said to his eunuchs: "The Upādhyāya has spiritual powers; if he exposes my plot, when he comes tomorrow we must eliminate him first." On the fifteenth of the month, as Deng was about to enter to pay respects to Hu, he said to his disciple Senghui: "Last night a heavenly deity called to me, saying: 'If you enter tomorrow, on your return do not visit anyone. If I happen to visit someone, you must stop me.'" Whenever Deng entered, he would always visit Sui. Sui, knowing Deng was coming, was waiting anxiously for him. When Deng was about to ascend the Southern Terrace, Senghui pulled his robe. Deng said: "This matter cannot be stopped." Before he was even comfortably seated, he arose. Sui tried firmly to detain him, but could not keep him, and the plot was thus foiled. Returning to the monastery, Deng sighed: "The Crown Prince's rebellion is almost formed. Wanting to speak of it, it is difficult to speak; wanting to endure it, it is difficult to endure." He then took occasion to admonish Hu calmly, but Hu never understood. Soon after, the matter came to light, and only then did \[Hu\] realize Deng's words. Later, Guo Heilüe led troops to campaign against the Qiang of the northern mountains of Chang'an and fell into the midst of the Qiang and Di. At that time Deng was sitting in the hall with his disciple Fachang by his side. Deng looked sorrowful and his expression changed, saying: "Lord Guo has fallen into the enemy's hands." He instructed the assembly of monks to chant incantations and make vows, and Deng himself also chanted incantations and made vows. In an instant he said again: "If he exits to the southeast he will live; in other directions he will be trapped." Again he chanted incantations and made vows. After a short while he said: "He has escaped." More than a month later, Heilüe returned and recounted that when he fell into the Qiang encirclement, he fled to the southeast until his horse was exhausted. He happened to meet one of his subordinates, who yielded his horse to him, saying: "You, my lord, ride this; I, a lowly man, will ride your horse. Whether we survive or not is up to fate." Heilüe obtained his horse and thus escaped. When they calculated and verified the day and hour, it was precisely the time when Deng was chanting incantations and making vows. Shi Bin, the Duke of Yan and illegitimate Grand Commander, was made Shepherd of Youzhou by Hu to garrison it. Bands of villains gathered there, and he gave free rein to violence. Deng warned Hu, saying: "The heavenly deity said last night: 'Quickly recall the horses and send them back. By autumn, Qi will suffer paralysis and rot.'" Hu did not understand these words, but immediately ordered all places to gather the horses and send them back. That autumn someone slandered Bin to Hu. Hu summoned Bin and gave him three hundred lashes of the whip, and killed his birth mother, Lady Qi. Hu drew his bow and fitted an arrow, watching the punishment of Bin himself; thinking the punishment too light, Hu personally killed five hundred \[of Bin's men\]. Deng remonstrated: "The mind must not be given free rein; the dead cannot be brought back to life. According to the rites, one does not kill with one's own hand lest it wound benevolence. How could the Son of Heaven carry out punishments with his own hand?" Hu then stopped. Later, the Jin army advanced beyond the Huai and Si rivers; Longbei and Wacheng were both pressed and invaded. The three fronts reported emergencies, and the people were anxious and disturbed. Hu then said in anger: "I serve the Buddha, yet on the contrary this brings foreign invaders; the Buddha has no divine power!" The next morning Deng entered early. Hu asked Deng about the matter. Deng then rebuked Hu, saying: "In a past life, your majesty was once a great merchant leader. Arriving at a monastery in Kapiśa, you once provided offerings at a great assembly in which there were sixty arhats. I myself also took part in this assembly. At that time, a man of the Way told me: 'When this host's life ends, he will be reborn as a chicken, and afterward become a king in the land of Jin.'" > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.21.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064.1.21.3) 今王為王豈非福也。 疆場軍寇國之常耳。 何為怨謗三寶。 夜興毒念乎。 虎乃信悟跪而謝焉。 虎常問澄。 佛法不殺。 朕為天下之主。 非刑殺無以肅清海內。 既違戒殺生。 雖復事佛詎獲福耶。 澄曰。 帝王事佛當在體恭心順顯揚三寶不為暴虐不害無辜。 至於兇暴無賴非化所遷。 有罪不得不殺。 有惡不得不刑。 但當殺可殺。 當刑可刑耳。 若暴虐恣意殺害非罪。 雖復傾財事法無解殃禍。 願陛下省欲興慈廣及一切。 則佛教永隆福祚方遠。 虎雖不能盡從。 而為益不少。 虎尚書張離張良等家富事佛各起大塔。 澄謂曰。 事佛在於清淨無欲慈矜為心檀越雖儀奉大法。 而貪悋未已。 遊獵無度。 積聚不窮。 方受現世之罪。 何福報之可希耶。 離等後並被戮滅。 時又久旱。 自正月至六月。 虎遣太子詣臨漳西滏口祈雨。 久而不降。 虎令澄自行。 即有白龍二頭降於祠所。 其日大雨。 方數千里。 其年大收。 戎貊之徒先不識法。 聞澄神驗皆遙向禮拜。 並不言而化焉。 澄常遣弟子向西域市香。 既行。 澄告餘弟子。 掌中見買香弟子在某處被劫垂死。 因燒香呪願遙救護之。 弟子後還云。 某月某日某處為賊所劫垂當見殺忽聞香氣。 賊無故自驚曰。 救兵已至。 棄之而走。 虎於臨漳修治舊塔少承露盤。 澄曰。 臨淄城內有古阿育王塔。 地中有承露盤及佛像。 其上林木茂盛。 可掘取之。 即畫圖與使。 依言掘取。 果得盤像。 虎每欲伐燕。 澄諫曰。 燕國運未終卒難可剋。 虎屢行敗績方信澄戒。 黃河中舊不生黿。 忽得一以獻虎。 澄見而歎曰。 桓溫其入河不久。 溫字元子。 後果如言也。 時魏縣有流民。 莫識氏族。 恒著麻襦布裳在魏縣市中乞丐。 時人謂之麻襦。 言語卓越狀如狂病。 乞得米穀不食輒散。 置大路云。 飼天馬。 趙興太守藉拔收送詣虎。 先是澄謂虎曰。 國東二百里某月某日。 當送一非常人。 勿殺之也。 如期果至。 虎與共語了無異言。 唯道陛下當終一柱殿下。 虎不解此語。 令送以詣澄。 麻襦謂澄曰。 昔在元和中會。 奄至今日酉戌受玄命。 絕曆終有期。 金離銷于壤。 邊荒不能尊。 驅除靈期迹。 莫已已之懿。 裔苗葉繁其來方積。 休期於何期永以歎之。 澄曰。 天迴運極否將不支九木。 水為難無可以術寧。 玄哲雖存世莫能。 基必頹久遊閻浮。 利擾擾多此患。 行登凌雲宇會於虛遊間。 澄與麻襦講論終日。 人莫能解。 有竊聽者。 唯得此數言。 推計似如論數百年事。 虎遣驛馬送還本縣。 既出城外辭能步行。 云我當有所過未便得發。 至合口橋可留見待。 使如言馳去。 未至合口。 而麻襦已在橋上。 考其行步有若飛也。 虎嘗晝寢。 夢見群羊負魚從東北來。 寤已訪澄。 澄曰。 不祥也。 鮮卑其有中原乎。 慕容氏後果都之。 澄嘗與虎共升中堂。 澄忽驚曰。 幽州當火災。 仍取酒灑之。 久而笑曰。 救已得矣。 虎遣驗幽州云。 爾日火從四門起。 西南有黑雲來驟雨滅之。 雨亦頗有酒氣。 至虎建武十四年七月。 石宣石韜將圖相殺。 宣時到寺與澄同坐浮圖。 一鈴獨鳴。 澄謂宣曰。 解鈴音乎。 鈴云。 胡子洛度。 宣變色曰。 是何言歟。 澄謬曰。 老胡為道不能山居。 無言重茵美服。 豈非洛度乎。 石韜後至。 澄熟視良久韜懼而問澄。 澄曰。 怪公血臭。 故相視耳。 至八月澄使弟子十人齋于別室。 澄時暫入東閤。 虎與后杜氏問訊。 澄曰。 脇下有賊。 不出十日。 自佛圖以西此殿以東當有流血。 慎勿東行也。 杜氏曰。 和尚耄耶何處有賊。 澄即易語云。 六情所受皆悉是賊。 老自應耄。 但使少者不惛。 遂便寓言不復章的。 後二日宣果遣人害韜於佛寺中。 欲因虎臨喪仍行大逆。 > "Is it not through merit that your Majesty is king today? Border skirmishes and bandit forces are commonplace for a state. Why resent and slander the Three Jewels and give rise to poisonous thoughts in the night?" \[Shi\] Hu then was convinced, awakened, and knelt down to apologise. Hu often asked \[Fotudeng\], "The Buddhist Dharma forbids killing. I am the ruler of all under Heaven; without executions and killings, there is no way to pacify \[the realm within\] the seas. Having violated the precept against taking life, even if I serve the Buddha, how can I obtain merit?" Fotudeng replied, "When emperors and kings serve the Buddha, it consists in being reverent in body and compliant in mind, glorifying the Three Jewels, not being tyrannical, and not harming the innocent. As for the ferocious, brutal, and villainous who cannot be transformed by moral influence—if they are guilty, they must be executed; if they are evil, they must be punished. One should only kill those who should be killed, and punish those who should be punished. If one acts tyrannically and willfully kills the innocent, even if one spends one's entire fortune serving the Dharma, disaster cannot be averted. May Your Majesty lessen your desires and give rise to compassion, extending it widely to all beings; then the Buddhist teachings will flourish forever and your blessings will endure far into the future." Although Hu could not follow all of it, it brought no small benefit. Hu's Secretarial Directors Zhang Li, Zhang Liang, and others, whose families were wealthy, served the Buddha and each erected a great stupa. Fotudeng said to them, "Serving the Buddha lies in purity, having no desires, and keeping a mind of compassion and pity. Although you donors outwardly adhere to the great Dharma, your greed and stinginess have not ceased. You hunt without restraint and accumulate \[wealth\] ceaselessly. You are about to incur retribution in this present life; what karmic blessing can you hope for?" Li and the others were later all executed and destroyed. At that time, there was another prolonged drought from the first month to the sixth month. Hu sent the Crown Prince to the mouth of the Fu River west of Linzhang to pray for rain, but after a long time none fell. Hu ordered Fotudeng to go in person; immediately, two white dragons descended at the shrine. On that day, heavy rain fell over thousands of square li. That year saw a great harvest. The Rong and Mo tribes, who previously did not know the Dharma, heard of Fotudeng's divine signs and all bowed in reverence from afar, being transformed without a word spoken. Fotudeng once sent a disciple to the Western Regions to buy incense. After he departed, Fotudeng told his other disciples, "In my palm, I see the disciple buying incense being robbed at a certain place and on the brink of death." Thereupon, he burned incense, made a prayer, and saved him from afar. The disciple later returned and said, "On a certain month and day at a certain place, I was robbed by bandits and was on the verge of being killed when suddenly a fragrance was smelled. For no reason, the bandits became terrified on their own and said, 'Relief troops have arrived!' They abandoned me and fled." When Hu was repairing an old stupa in Linzhang, he lacked a dew-receiving basin. Fotudeng said, "Inside the city of Linzi, there is an ancient stupa of King Aśoka. In the ground, there is a dew-receiving basin and a Buddha statue. Above it, trees and woods are flourishing. You may dig them up." He immediately drew a diagram and gave it to the envoy. Digging according to his instructions, they indeed obtained the basin and the statue. Whenever Hu wished to attack Yan, Fotudeng admonished him, saying, "The destiny of the state of Yan has not yet ended; it will ultimately be difficult to overcome." Hu suffered defeat several times before finally believing Fotudeng's warning. Large softshell turtles were not previously native to the Yellow River, but one was suddenly caught and presented to Hu. Seeing it, Fotudeng sighed and said, "Huan Wen will enter the River before long." Wen's courtesy name was Yuanzi. Later, it indeed turned out as he had said. At that time, in Wei County there was a displaced person whose clan name no one knew. He constantly wore a hemp jacket and cloth skirt, begging in the marketplace of Wei County. The people of the time called him Hemp Jacket (Maru). His speech was extraordinary, and his appearance was like someone mad. When he begged and received rice and grain, he did not eat it but immediately scattered it, placing it on the main road and saying, "To feed the heavenly horses." The Grand Administrator of Zhaoxing, Jie Ba, arrested him and sent him to Hu. Prior to this, Fotudeng had told Hu, "On a certain month and day, two hundred li east of the state, an extraordinary man will be delivered. Do not kill him." As predicted, he indeed arrived. Hu spoke with him, but his words were completely ordinary, saying only, "Your Majesty will end under a single-pillared hall." Hu did not understand these words and ordered him sent to Fotudeng. Hemp Jacket said to Fotudeng, "In the past, we met during the Yuanhe era. Suddenly we have arrived at today: in the year of you and xu we received the mysterious mandate. The broken calendar at last has its term. Gold separates and melts into the soil; the distant wilderness cannot show honor. The traces of the divine destiny have been swept away. There is no end to its goodness; the descendant sprouts and leaves flourish, and what is to come will accumulate. When will the auspicious period arrive? Long do I sigh over it." Fotudeng said, "The revolution of heaven has reached its limit; adversity will not sustain the nine trees. Water causes difficulties, and there are no arts by which it can be pacified. Though the mysterious and wise exist, no one in the world can \[remedy it\]. The foundation must collapse; having long roamed Jambudvīpa, where profit stirs up confusion, there are many such perils. Let us ascend the cloud-soaring dwellings and meet in the space of empty wandering." Fotudeng and Hemp Jacket discussed all day, and no one could understand them. Someone eavesdropping only caught these few phrases; by deduction, they seemed to be discussing matters spanning hundreds of years. Hu sent relay horses to escort him back to his home county. Once outside the city walls, he declined, saying he could walk on foot, and said, "I have a place to visit and cannot depart immediately. You may wait for me at Hekou Bridge." The envoy galloped off as instructed. Before reaching Hekou, Hemp Jacket was already on the bridge. Observing his walking pace, it was as if he were flying. Hu once took a daytime nap and dreamt of a flock of sheep carrying fish coming from the northeast. Upon waking, he consulted Fotudeng. Fotudeng said, "It is inauspicious. Will the Xianbei take possession of the Central Plains?" The Murong clan indeed later made it their capital. Fotudeng was once ascending the central hall together with Hu. Fotudeng suddenly said in alarm, "Youzhou will suffer a fire disaster!" He then took wine and sprinkled it. After a long while, he laughed and said, "Rescue has succeeded." Hu sent someone to inspect Youzhou, who reported, "On that day, fire broke out from the four gates. From the southwest, dark clouds came, and a sudden downpour extinguished it. The rain also smelled considerably of wine." In the fourteenth year of Hu's Jianwu era, in the seventh month, Shi Xuan and Shi Tao were plotting to kill one another. Xuan came to the monastery at that time and sat with Fotudeng in the stupa. A bell rang alone. Fotudeng said to Xuan, "Do you understand the bell's sound? The bell says: 'Hu child, luodu.'" Xuan changed color and said, "What words are these?" Fotudeng feigned ignorance and said, "This old barbarian practices the Way yet cannot dwell in the mountains, not to mention double cushions and fine clothes—is that not luodu?" Later, Shi Tao arrived. Fotudeng stared intently at him for a long while. Tao was frightened and questioned Fotudeng. Fotudeng said, "I was amazed by the smell of blood on you, my lord; that is why I looked at you." In the eighth month, Fotudeng ordered ten disciples to observe a fast in a separate room. Fotudeng himself briefly entered the Eastern Chamber. Hu and Empress Du came to pay their respects. Fotudeng said, "There is a bandit at your flanks. Within ten days, between west of the stupa and east of this hall, there will be bloodshed. Be careful not to travel east." Empress Du said, "Is the Acārya senile? Where could there be a bandit?" Fotudeng immediately changed his words, saying, "All that is received through the six senses are bandits. The old should naturally be senile; just ensure the young are not confused." He then spoke in allegories, no longer speaking explicitly. Two days later, Xuan indeed sent men to murder Tao inside a Buddhist monastery, intending to use the occasion of Hu attending the funeral to commit high treason. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.21.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064.1.21.4) 虎以澄先戒故獲免。 及宣事發被收。 澄諫虎曰。 既是陛下之子。 何為重禍耶。 陛下若含怒加慈者。 尚可六十餘歲。 如必誅之。 宣當為彗星下掃鄴宮也。 虎不從以鐵鎖穿宣頷。 牽上薪積而焚之。 收其官屬三百餘人。 皆轘裂支解。 投之漳河。 澄乃勅弟子罷別室齋也。 後月餘日有一妖馬。 髦尾皆有燒狀。 入中陽門出顯陽門。 東首東宮皆不得入。 走向東北俄爾不見。 澄聞而歎曰。 災其及矣。 至十一月虎大饗群臣於大武前殿。 澄吟曰。 殿乎殿乎。 棘子成林。 將壞人衣。 虎令發殿石下視之。 有棘生焉。 澄還寺視佛像曰悵恨不得莊嚴。 獨語曰。 得三年乎。 自答。 不得不得。 又曰。 得二年一年百日一月乎。 自答不得。 乃無復言。 還房謂弟子法祚曰。 戊申歲禍亂將萌。 己酉石氏當滅。 吾及其未亂先從化矣。 即遣人辭虎曰。 物理必遷身命非保。 負道焰遷之軀化期已及。 既荷恩殊重。 故逆以仰聞。 虎愴然曰。 不聞和尚有疾。 乃忽爾告終。 即自出宮寺而慰喻焉。 澄謂虎曰。 出入生死道之常也。 修短分定非所能延矣。 夫道重行全德貴無怠。 苟業操無虧雖亡若在。 違而獲延非其所願。 今意未盡者。 以國家心存佛理奉法無吝。 興起寺廟崇顯壯麗。 稱斯德也宜享休祉。 而布政猛烈理刑酷濫。 顯違聖典幽背法戒。 不自懲革終無福祐。 若降心易慮惠此下民。 則國祚延長道俗慶賴。 畢命就盡歿無遺恨。 虎悲慟嗚咽知其必逝。 即為鑿壙營墳。 至十二月八日卒於鄴宮寺。 是歲晉穆帝永和四年也。 士庶悲哀號赴傾國。 春秋一百一十七矣。 仍窆於臨漳西紫陌。 即虎所創塚也。 俄而梁犢作亂。 明年虎死。 冉閔纂戮石種都盡。 閔小字棘奴。 澄先所謂棘子成林者也。 澄左乳旁先有一孔。 圍四五寸。 通徹腹內。 有時腸從中出。 或以絮塞孔。 夜欲讀書輒拔絮。 則一室洞明。 又齋日輒至水邊引腸洗之。 還復內中。 澄身長八尺。 風姿甚美。 妙解深經旁通世論。 講說之日止標宗致。 使始末文言昭然可了。 加復慈洽蒼生拯救危苦。 當二石兇疆虐害非道。 若不與澄同日。 孰可言哉。 但百姓蒙益日用而不知耳。 佛調須菩提等數十名僧。 出自天竺康居。 不遠數萬里路。 足涉流沙詣澄受訓。 樊沔釋道安。 中山竺法雅。 並跨越關河聽澄講說。 皆妙達精理研測幽微。 澄自說。 生處去鄴九萬餘里棄家入道一百九年。 酒不踰齒過中不食。 非戒不履無欲無求。 受業追隨常有數百。 前後門徒幾且一萬。 所歷州郡興立佛寺八百九十三所。 弘法之盛莫與先矣。 初虎殮澄。 以生時錫杖及鉢內棺中。 後冉閔篡位開棺。 唯得鉢杖不復見屍。 或言。 澄死之月有人見澄於流沙。 虎疑其不死。 因發墓開棺視之。 唯見一石。 虎曰。 石者朕也。 師葬我而去矣。 未幾虎死。 後慕容雋都鄴。 處石虎宮中。 忽夢見虎嚙其臂。 意謂石虎為祟。 乃募覓虎屍於東明館掘得之。 屍殭不毀。 雋蹹（音踏）之罵曰。 死胡敢怖生天子。 汝作宮殿成。 而為汝兒所圖。 況復他耶。 鞭撻毀辱投之漳河。 屍倚橋柱不移。 秦將王猛乃收而葬之。 麻襦所言一柱殿也。 後符堅征鄴雋子暐為堅大將郭神虎所執實先夢虎之驗也。 > Because of Fotudeng's prior admonition, \[Shi\] Hu was spared. When Shi Xuan's plot came to light and he was arrested, Fotudeng remonstrated with Hu, saying: 'Since he is Your Majesty's son, why inflict such severe calamity upon him? If Your Majesty can restrain your wrath and add compassion, you may still enjoy over sixty more years. If you must execute him, Xuan will become a comet descending to sweep through the palace of Ye.' Hu did not listen; he pierced Xuan's jaw with an iron lock, dragged him atop a pile of firewood, and burned him. He arrested over three hundred of his officials and attendants, had them all torn apart by chariots and dismembered, and threw them into the Zhang River. Fotudeng then instructed his disciples to discontinue the separate-room retreats. More than a month later, there was a demonic horse whose mane and tail both looked burnt; it entered the Zhongyang Gate and exited the Xianyang Gate, heading east toward the Eastern Palace, yet could not enter anywhere. It ran toward the northeast and vanished in an instant. Hearing of this, Fotudeng sighed and said: 'The calamity has arrived!' In the eleventh month, Hu held a grand banquet for his ministers in the front hall of the Dawu Palace. Fotudeng chanted: 'O palace, O palace! Brambles shall grow into a forest, soon to tear people's robes.' Hu ordered the stones of the hall floor lifted to inspect underneath, and indeed thorns were growing there. Fotudeng returned to the monastery, looked upon the Buddha image, and said with sorrow: 'I am grieved that I cannot adorn you \[further\].' Speaking to himself, he said: 'Can I have three years?' He answered himself: 'No, no.' He asked again: 'Can I have two years, one year, a hundred days, or one month?' He answered himself: 'No.' Then he spoke no more. Returning to his chamber, he said to his disciple Fazuo: 'In the wushen year, disaster and disorder will sprout; in the jiyou year, the Shi clan will be annihilated. Before the turmoil begins, I will follow the transformation \[of death\].' He immediately sent someone to take leave of Hu, saying: 'All physical things must pass away; this bodily life cannot be preserved. Carrying the body through its fleeting, blazing transition, my time of transformation has arrived. Having received such exceptional favor, I respectfully report this beforehand.' Grieved, Hu said: 'I had not heard that the Master was ill, yet he suddenly announces his end!' He immediately went out in person from the palace to the monastery to comfort him. Fotudeng said to Hu: 'To enter and leave birth and death is the common course of the Way. The length of one's span is fixed by allotment; it cannot be prolonged. The Way prizes complete practice, and virtue values lack of negligence. If one's karma and conduct have no defect, though dead one is as if alive; to disobey \[the Way\] merely to obtain prolongation is not what I desire. What remains unfulfilled in my mind is this: the state has set its heart upon the Buddha's principles and serves the Dharma without stint, raising monasteries and temples that are lofty, prominent, grand, and magnificent. Commensurate with this virtue, you ought to enjoy auspicious blessings. Yet the governance promulgated is fierce and harsh, and penal judgments are cruel and excessive; you openly violate the sacred scriptures and secretly disobey the precepts of the Dharma. Unless you discipline and reform yourself, there will ultimately be no blessed protection. If you humble your heart, alter your thoughts, and show kindness to the common people, the state's fortune will be prolonged, and both monks and laypeople will rejoice and rely upon it. Then I will finish my life and go to my end, dying without lingering regret.' Weeping and sobbing, Hu knew that he must pass away, and immediately had a vault dug and a tomb prepared for him. On the eighth day of the twelfth month, he died at the Palace Monastery of Ye. This was the fourth year of Yonghe of Emperor Mu of Jin. Gentry and commoners wept in sorrow, wailing and hastening \[to the funeral\] from across the entire state. His worldly age was one hundred and seventeen. He was buried at the Purple Path to the west of Linzhang, which was the tomb Hu had prepared. Soon afterward, Liang Du rose in rebellion. The following year, Hu died. Ran Min usurped power and slaughtered the Shi clan completely. Min's childhood name was Jinu ('Bramble Slave'), which was what Fotudeng had previously meant by 'brambles shall grow into a forest.' Fotudeng previously had a hole beside his left breast, four or five inches in circumference, which opened straight into his abdomen. At times his intestines would emerge from it, and he would plug the hole with cotton wool. When he wished to read at night, he would pull out the cotton, and the entire room would be brightly illuminated. Moreover, on fast days he would always go to the water's edge, draw out his intestines, wash them, and replace them inside. Fotudeng stood eight feet tall and was of noble bearing and great beauty; he possessed a wondrous understanding of the profound scriptures and broad mastery of worldly treatises. When lecturing, he merely indicated the principal themes, making the entire text from beginning to end lucid and readily comprehended. In addition, his compassion extended to the multitude of living beings, rescuing those in peril and suffering. During the tyrannical, cruel, and unprincipled reign of the two Shis, had they not lived at the same time as Fotudeng, who could say what might have happened? Yet the people received his benefit and used it daily without being aware of it. Dozens of renowned monks, such as Fotiao and Subhūti, came from Tianzhu and Kangju, not shrinking from journeys of tens of thousands of li, traversing the shifting sands on foot to call upon Fotudeng and receive his instruction. Shi Dao'an from Fanmian and Zhu Faya from Zhongshan both crossed passes and rivers to hear Fotudeng lecture, and all attained wondrous mastery of subtle principles and investigated the profound and minute. Fotudeng himself said that his birthplace was more than ninety thousand li from Ye, and that he had renounced household life and entered the Way for one hundred and nine years. Wine never passed his teeth; past noon he did not eat. He took no step that breached the precepts, and was free of desires and seeking. Those who pursued studies and followed him regularly numbered several hundred, and his disciples from first to last numbered nearly ten thousand. The Buddhist monasteries he founded throughout the provinces and commanderies he traversed numbered eight hundred and ninety-three. In the flourishing propagation of the Dharma, none surpassed him. When Hu initially encoffined Fotudeng, he placed the tin staff and bowl he had used in life inside the coffin. Later, when Ran Min usurped the throne, the coffin was opened; they found only the bowl and staff, and the corpse was no longer seen. Some say that in the month Fotudeng died, someone saw him in the shifting sands. Hu suspected that he was not dead, and so exhumed the tomb and opened the coffin to inspect it, finding only a stone. Hu said: 'The stone (shi) is me. The Master has buried me and departed!' Not long afterward, Hu died. Later, when Murong Jun made Ye his capital, he resided in Shi Hu's palace. Suddenly he dreamed of a tiger biting his arm, and suspecting it was Shi Hu haunting him as an evil spirit, he offered a reward to locate Hu's corpse and dug it up at Dongming Hall. The corpse was stiff and undecayed. Jun trampled on it and cursed, saying: 'Dead barbarian, how dare you terrify a living Son of Heaven! You completed the palace, only to be plotted against by your own son; how much less can you trouble others?' He had it flogged, disgraced, and thrown into the Zhang River. The corpse leaned against a bridge pillar and would not move. The Qin general Wang Meng then gathered and buried it. This was what Maru had meant by 'a palace with a single pillar.' Later, when Fu Jian attacked Ye, Jun's son Wei was captured by Jian's senior general Guo Shenhu ('Divine Tiger'), which was indeed the verification of the earlier dream of the tiger. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064~en-mt.1.21.1) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064.1.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2064.1.21) · Pramāṇa