神僧傳 7.34

7.34

釋本淨。未詳何許人。道氣高抗。聞閩嶺多禪宗知識。歷往參之。又聞長溪霍童山多神仙洞府。然山中不容凡俗。淨乃入山結茅為室。室側有毒龍石穴。其龍夭矯而出。變現無恒。遂呼召之而馴擾焉。又諸猛虎橫路為害。樵者不敢深入。淨撫其頭誡約丁寧。虎弭耳而去。甞清宵有九人冠幘袴褶稱寄宿。盡納諸菴內。明旦告辭偕化為鶴。鳴唳空中而去。淨後罔知其終。

Śramaṇa Benjing: it is not known from where he hailed. His demeanor in the Way was lofty and unyielding. Hearing that south of the Min passes there were many good friends of the Chan tradition, he traveled to visit them all. He also heard that Mount Huotong in Changxi had many grotto-abodes of immortals, but the mountain did not tolerate common worldlings. Benjing thereupon entered the mountain and thatched grass to make a hut. Beside the hut was a stone cave of a venomous dragon; the dragon soared and writhed out, its transformations unpredictable, but Benjing summoned it and tamed it. Furthermore, fierce tigers obstructed the road and caused harm, so woodcutters dared not enter deeply; Benjing stroked their heads and admonished them earnestly, and the tigers lowered their ears and departed. Once, on a clear night, nine men wearing caps and pleated trousers requested lodging; he welcomed them all into the hermitage. The next morning, when they took their leave, they all transformed into cranes, crying out in the sky as they flew away. Benjing's end was subsequently unknown.