神僧傳 3.30

3.30

釋阿禿師者。不知鄉土姓名所出。爾朱未滅之前已在晉陽遊諸郡邑。不居寺舍出入民間。語譎必有徵驗。每行市里人眾圍繞之。因大呼以手指胸曰。憐爾百姓無所知。不識并州阿禿師。人遂以此名焉。齊神武遷鄴之後。以晉陽兵馬之地王業所基。常鎮守并州。時來鄴下。所有軍國大事未出帷幄者。禿師先於人眾間泄露。末年執置城內遣人防家不聽輒出。若其越逸罪及門司。當日并州城三門。各有一禿師盪出。遮執不能禁。未幾有人從北州來云。禿師四月八日於雁門郡市捨命。郭下大家以香花送之埋於城外。并州人怪笑此語。謂之曰。禿師四月八日從汾橋過東出。一脚有鞋一脚徒跣。但不知入何坊巷。人皆見之。何云雁門死也。此人復往北州報語鄉邑。眾共開塚看之。唯見一隻履鞋耳。後還并州。齊神武以制約不從浪語不息慮動民庶。遂以祅惑戮之。沙門無髮以繩鉤首。伏法之日舉州民眾詣市觀之。禿師含笑更無言語。刑後六七日有人從河西部落來云。道逢禿師形狀如故。但能負一繩籠禿師頭。與語不應急走西去。

Shi Atu's native place, surname, and given name are not known. Before the Erzhu clan was destroyed, he was already roaming through various commanderies and towns in Jinyang. He did not live in monastery quarters, but moved among the common people. His enigmatic words were invariably verified by events. Whenever he walked in the markets and streets, crowds surrounded him. He would then shout loudly, pointing to his chest, and say: 'I pity you commoners who know nothing, not knowing Master Atu of Bing Prefecture!' People thus gave him this name. After Emperor Shenwu of Qi moved the capital to Ye, since Jinyang was a strategic place of soldiers and horses and the foundation of his royal enterprise, he often garrisoned Bing Prefecture, occasionally coming to Ye. Whenever there were major affairs of state and military that had not yet emerged from the inner tents, Master Atu would disclose them beforehand among the crowds. In his later years, he was seized and kept within the city, with people dispatched to guard his dwelling, not allowing him to leave casually; if he escaped, the blame would fall upon the gate guards. On that very day, at each of the three gates of the city of Bing Prefecture, there was a Master Atu bursting forth; those who tried to block and seize him could not restrain him. Not long after, someone arrived from the northern prefectures saying: 'On the eighth day of the fourth month, Master Atu gave up his life in the market of Yanmen Commandery. Great families outside the outer city sent him off with incense and flowers and buried him outside the city.' The people of Bing Prefecture laughed at these words, thinking them strange, and said to him: 'On the eighth day of the fourth month, Master Atu crossed the Fen Bridge and went east, with a shoe on one foot and the other foot bare, though we do not know which lane or alley he entered. Everyone saw him. How can you say he died in Yanmen?' This person went back to the northern prefectures and reported this to his hometown; the crowd opened the tomb together to look, and saw only a single shoe. Later, [Atu] returned to Bing Prefecture. Because he would not comply with restrictions and his reckless talk never ceased, Emperor Shenwu of Qi feared he would agitate the common people, and so executed him on charges of sorcery and delusions. As a śramaṇa has no hair, they used a rope to hook his head. On the day he underwent the punishment, the people of the entire prefecture went to the market to watch; Master Atu was smiling and spoke no further words. Six or seven days after the execution, someone came from the tribes of Hexi, saying: 'On the road I met Master Atu, his appearance just as before; only he was carrying a rope basket containing Master Atu's head. When spoken to, he did not reply, but hurried away to the west.'