神僧傳 1.25

1.25

Zhu Fahui was originally a native of Guanzhong. He was upright, forthright, and of pure moral conduct. He entered the Songgao Mountains to serve Fotumi as his teacher. In the first year of Jianyuan of Emperor Kang of Jin, he arrived in Xiangyang and stayed at the Yang Shuzi Monastery. He did not accept separate invitations; whenever he begged for food, he would carry a rope-bed with him along quiet and open roads, set it down, and sit. Sometimes when encountering rain, he would cover himself with an oiled cape; when the rain stopped, people saw only the rope-bed and did not know where Fahui was. Before their questioning ceased, Fahui was already on the bed. He often said to his disciple Fazhao: 'In a past life you broke a chicken's leg; the retribution will soon arrive.' Soon after, Zhao was thrown down by someone, and his leg became permanently crippled. Later, he said to his disciples: 'An old man in Xinye is due to pass away; I wish to deliver him.' He then walked along the dikes between the fields and indeed saw an old man leading an ox to plow the field. Fahui begged the old man for the ox. The old man would not give it. Fahui stepped forward and grabbed the ox's nose himself; terrified by his uncanny nature, the old man thereupon gave it to him as dāna. Fahui led the ox while chanting a dedication of merit, took seven steps, turned back, and returned the ox to the old man. A few days later, the old man died. Later, Yu Zhigong, General Who Conquers the West, was stationed in Xiangyang. Since he had never revered the Dharma and heard that Fahui possessed extraordinary miraculous traces, he was extremely jealous of him. Fahui forewarned his disciples, saying: 'My past retribution will soon arrive,' and exhorted his followers to diligently cultivate merit and goodness. Two days later, he was indeed arrested and executed. His worldly age was fifty-eight. Facing death, he said to the crowd: 'Three days after I die, heavy rain will fall from heaven.' When the appointed time arrived, a deluge poured down; the water at the city gate reached a depth of ten feet, flooding and drowning residents, causing many deaths.