神僧傳 7.28

7.28

釋法秀者。未詳何許人也。居于京師。遊于咸鎬之間。以勸率眾緣多成善務。至老未甞休懈。開元末明皇甞夢人云。將手巾五百條袈裟五百領。於迴向寺布施。及覺問左右。並云無。乃遣募緇徒道高者令尋訪。秀出應召曰。某知迴向寺處。問要幾人。曰但得齎持所物及名香一斤即可矣。遂授之。秀徑入終南行兩日。至極深峻處都無所見。忽遇一碾石。驚曰。此人不到何有此物。乃於其上焚所携香。禮祝哀祈自午至夕。良久谷中霧起咫尺不辨。近來漸散。當半崖有朱柱粉壁。玲瓏如畫。少頃轉分明。見一寺若在雲間。三門巨額諦視之。乃迴向也。喜甚攀陟遂到。時已黃昏聞鍾磬及禮佛之聲。門者詰其所從來。遂引入見一老僧曰。唐皇帝萬福。令語人相隨。歷房散手巾等。唯餘一分。一房但空榻無人。有一衣服坐席。似有所適者。遂却見老僧。僧曰。更往當已來矣。秀復至欲授手巾等。一房但空榻者亦無人矣。又具言之。僧笑令坐。顧侍者曰。彼房取尺八來。至乃玉尺八也。僧曰。汝見彼胡僧否。曰見。僧曰。此是權代汝主者。國內當亂。人死無數。此名磨滅王。其一室是汝主房也。汝主在寺以愛吹尺八謫在人間。此常吹者也。今限亦滿。即却歸矣。明日遣就齋。齋訖曰。汝當迴可將此尺八付汝主。并袈裟手巾令自收。秀膜拜而迴。童子送出纔數步。又雲霧四合。及散則復不見寺矣。乃持手巾袈裟尺八等進於玄宗。及召見具述本末。玄宗大感悅。持以吹之。宛是先所御者。後十餘年遂有祿山之禍。所見胡僧即祿山也。秀感所遇精進倍切不知所終。

Śramaṇa Faxiu: it is not known from where he hailed. He lived in the capital, wandering throughout the region between Xianyang and Haojing. He exhorted and led people in many karmic connections, accomplishing numerous good deeds, never resting or slackening even in old age. At the end of the Kaiyuan era, Minghuang [Emperor Xuanzong] dreamed of a man who said, "Take five hundred hand towels and five hundred kāṣāyas to give as dāna at the Huixiang Monastery." Upon waking, he asked his attendants, and all said there was no such place. He then sent out a search to recruit monks of elevated practice to seek it out. Faxiu came forward to answer the summons, saying, "I know the location of Huixiang Monastery." When asked how many men he required, he replied, "I need only carry the specified articles and one pound of fine incense, and that will suffice." They were then bestowed upon him. Faxiu went straight into the Zhongnan Mountains, traveling for two days. Arriving at an extremely deep and precipitous spot, he saw nothing at all. Suddenly he encountered a grinding stone, and exclaimed in surprise, "Where people do not go, how can this object be here?" Thereupon, atop it he burned the incense he had brought, reverently praying and piteously petitioning from midday to dusk. After a long while, a fog arose in the valley so thick that one could not see even a few inches ahead. As it drew near, it gradually dissipated, and halfway up the cliff there appeared vermilion pillars and whitewashed walls, delicate and elegant as a painting. Shortly thereafter it became clearer, and he saw a monastery as though amidst the clouds. Examining closely the great plaque over the triple gate, it was indeed "Huixiang." Overjoyed, he climbed and clambered up until he reached it. It was already dusk, and he heard the sound of bells, lithophones, and the worship of the Buddha. The gatekeeper inquired whence he came, and then led him in to see an old monk. [The old monk] said, "Ten thousand blessings upon the Tang Emperor!" He had a man accompany him to go through the chambers and distribute the towels and robes. Only one portion remained. One chamber had only an empty couch without any occupant; there were clothes and a sitting mat, as though someone had just stepped out. Faxiu then returned to see the old monk. The monk said, "Go again, and he should have arrived." Faxiu went once more, intending to deliver the towel and robe, but the room with the empty couch was still vacant. He reported this in detail again. The monk smiled, bade him sit, and looked to his attendant, saying, "Go to that room and fetch the shakuhachi [chiba flute]." When brought, it was a jade shakuhachi. The monk asked, "Did you see that barbarian monk?" Faxiu said, "I did." The monk said, "This is one who will temporarily take the place of your sovereign. The realm shall fall into chaos, and countless people will die; this one is called the King of Destruction. That one room is your sovereign's chamber. When your sovereign was in this monastery, because he loved playing the shakuhachi, he was banished to the human world. This is the one he used to play. Now his term is also expiring, and he will soon return. Tomorrow you shall take your meal here." When the meal was finished, the monk said, "When you return, you may take this shakuhachi and give it to your sovereign, along with the kāṣāya and towel for him to keep himself." Faxiu bowed with hands to forehead and departed. A novice escorted him out; after merely a few steps, clouds and mist gathered from all four sides. When they dispersed, the monastery was no longer visible. He then brought the towels, kāṣāyas, shakuhachi, and other items to present to Xuanzong. When summoned to an audience, he related the entire affair from beginning to end. Xuanzong was deeply moved and pleased; he took the flute and played it, and it was precisely the one he had previously used. More than ten years later, the calamity of An Lushan indeed took place; the barbarian monk Faxiu had seen was precisely An Lushan. Stirred by what he had encountered, Faxiu doubled his vigorous practice, and his end was unknown.