神僧傳 8.38

8.38

釋圓觀。不知何許人。居于洛。率性疎簡。時與李源為忘形之友。同止慧林寺但日給一器。隨眾僧飲食而已。如此三年。一日源忽約觀游蜀青城峨眉等山洞求藥。觀欲游長安由斜谷路。李欲自荊入峽。爭此二途。半年未決。李曰。吾已不事王侯。行不願歷兩京道矣。觀曰。行無固必請從子命。遂自荊上峽。行次南浦泊舟。見數婦女條達錦襠負罌而汲觀俛首而泣曰。某不欲經此者。恐見此婦人也。李問其故。觀曰。其孕婦王氏者。是某託身之所也。已逾三戴尚未解㝃。唯以吾未來故。今既見矣。命有所歸。釋氏所謂循還者也。請君用符呪遣其速生。且少留行舟葬吾山谷。其家浴兒時亦望君訪臨。若相顧一笑是識君也。後十二年當中秋月夜。專於錢唐天竺寺外。乃是與君相見之期也。李追悔此一行。召孕婦告以其事。婦人喜躍還。頃之李往授符水。觀沐浴而化。婦生一子焉。李三日往看。新兒果致一笑。明日李迴棹歸慧林寺。詢問弟子方知已理命矣。李常念杭州之約。至期到天竺寺。其夜月明忽聞葛洪井畊有牧童歌竹枝者。乘牛扣角。雙髻短衣。徐至寺前乃觀也。李趨拜曰。觀公健否。曰李公真信士。我與君殊途。慎勿相近。君俗緣未盡但且勤修。不墮即遂相見。李無由序語。望之澘然。觀又歌竹枝前去。詞切調高。不知所終。

Shi Yuanguan's origins are unknown. He lived in Luoyang, and was by nature detached and simple. At that time he was an intimate friend of Li Yuan, who had forgotten all physical pretense. Together they stayed at Huilin Monastery, taking only a single vessel of food daily along with the monastic assembly, and nothing more. Thus passed three years. One day Yuan suddenly invited Guan to travel through the mountain caves of Qingcheng and Emei in Shu to seek medicinal herbs. Guan wished to travel to Chang'an via the Xie Valley road; Li wished to enter the Gorges from Jingzhou. They argued over these two routes for half a year without resolving the matter. Li said: "I have already ceased serving kings and nobles; on my journey I do not wish to pass through the roads of the two capitals." Guan said: "Travel should not be bound by rigid insistence; let us follow your command." Thereupon they traveled up the Gorges from Jingzhou. Stopping their boat at Nanpu, they saw several women in elegant patterned short jackets carrying jars to draw water. Guan bowed his head and wept, saying: "The reason I did not wish to pass through here was the fear of seeing this woman." Li asked the reason. Guan said: "That pregnant woman of the Wang family is the place where I am to lodge my body. More than three years have passed and she has not yet given birth, solely because I had not yet arrived. Now that we have met, my destiny has its destination; this is what the Buddhists call cyclical rebirth. Please use a talisman and incantation to cause her to give birth swiftly; and linger your boat a short while to bury me in the mountain valley. When her family bathes the child, I also hope you will visit; if he looks at you and smiles, he recognizes you. Twelve years later, on the night of the mid-autumn moon, strictly outside the Tianzhu Monastery in Qiantang, that shall be the appointed time to meet you again." Li deeply regretted this journey. He called the pregnant woman and informed her of the matter; the woman leaped with joy and returned home. Before long, Li went to present the talisman water; Guan bathed and transformed [in death]. The woman gave birth to a son. On the third day Li went to see him; the newborn child indeed offered a smile. The next day Li turned his oars and returned to Huilin Monastery; upon questioning the disciples, he learned that Guan had already arranged his affairs. Li always remembered the pact in Hangzhou. When the appointed time arrived, he went to Tianzhu Monastery. On that night under the bright moon, he suddenly heard a cowherd singing the "Bamboo Branch Song" by the well-field of Ge Hong, riding an ox and tapping its horns, with double topknots and short clothes. As he approached slowly in front of the monastery, it was indeed Guan! Li hurried forward, bowed, and said: "Master Guan, are you well?" [Guan] said: "Lord Li, you are truly a trustworthy man! You and I follow different paths; be careful not to draw near. Your worldly karma is not yet exhausted; merely cultivate diligently. If you do not fall into the lower realms, we shall eventually meet again." Li had no way to carry on the conversation, and wept as he gazed at him. Guan again sang the "Bamboo Branch Song" and moved onward, its words poignant and its tune soaring, until none knew where he ended.