神僧傳 5.24

5.24

Shi Pu'an, whose secular surname was Guo, was a native of Jingyang in Jingzhao. In his youth, he renounced household life under Chan Master Yuan and practiced the austere dhūta vows. Later, he went to Master Ai; fully understanding the Tripiṭaka, he constantly took the Avataṃsaka as his regular practice, using its recitation and Chan contemplation as his standard. When the Zhou dynasty destroyed the Dharma, he lived in reclusion in Pianzi Valley of Mount Zhongnan. At that time, there was a heavy bounty offering ten bolts of cloth as a reward for capturing a single monk. Someone responding to the bounty came wanting to arrest An. [An] comforted and advised him, saying: "Seeing your extreme poverty, I wish to provide for you." After preparing food for him, they entered the capital together. The Emperor said to this man: "The law of my state is strict and does not permit men of the Way among the people; you further add to the strictness and do not permit men of the Way in the mountains. If so, where could others be sent to survive? He should be released into the mountains; there is no need to investigate him." Thereupon, relieved, he returned again. When Emperor Wen of the Sui founded the dynasty, Buddhism flourished greatly. He broadly recruited the surviving monks to be settled as before. At that time, more than thirty monks in Pianzi Valley renounced household life in response to the imperial decree and resided in official monasteries. Only An remained in his original mountain dwelling, preserving the plainness of the forests and ravines, and from time to time walking to villages and settlements to benefit living beings. Later, someone carved a niche and built a hut beside the confluence of the two valleys of Ziwu and Hulin, inviting him to dwell there. When he first settled in the niche, there was a large boulder directly above it. Fearing it would fall, they dug it out, and it tumbled down the precipice. An thought to himself: "I vow that it will move elsewhere and not shatter the cave niche." The stone thereupon, according to his words, bounced off and avoided it to another place. The assembly all marveled at this. An said: "It is the power of the Avataṃsaka; it is not worth wondering at." Moreover, on the left side of the ravine at the rock wall east of the niche, there was a man named Suotuo, who was an enormous nuisance to the riverine countryside, behaving unrestrainedly in more than one way. Secretly jealous of An's virtue, he constantly thought of executing and destroying him. Accompanied by three companions, he carried bows and grasped blades; baring his arms, he drew a strong bow and was about to shoot an arrow. The arrow would not leave the bowstring, his hands remained stretched without stopping, his eyes bulged, his tongue was struck dumb, and he remained standing overnight. The sound spread and shook far and wide, and people gathered like clouds. The villagers bowed their heads, showed their sincere devotion, and begged for rescue. An said: "I truly knew nothing of it; how could it not be the power of the Avataṃsaka? If he wishes to be delivered, merely have him repent." When they instructed him as told, he finally received liberation. Furthermore, west of the niche in Wei Village was one Zhang Hui, who from early on harbored evil intentions and made theft his profession. At night, he went to An's place and secretly took the Buddha lamp oil. The jar held five sheng, and he carried it out on his back. Once he reached the courtyard gate, he became dazed and lost his senses, as if bound by something and unable to move. His relatives and fellow villagers came together to apologize. An said: "I knew nothing of it; is it perhaps the power of the Avataṃsaka?" He told him to repent and helped him take down the oil jar; when he acted as told, he was freed. Furthermore, south of the niche, one Zhang Qing came and stole An's money, carrying it away in his sleeve. Once he reached home, he poured it out but it would not come out; his mouth was struck dumb and he could not speak. He immediately returned to repent and went back along the road. There was one Cheng Huihe of Chengguo Village, who harbored considerable faith and constantly came to An's place to listen to and receive the essentials of the Dharma. Falling ill, he died, and two nights had already passed; his corpse was wrapped on the ground, awaiting encoffining. At that time, An had previously gone to Hu County and was on the road returning. Walking along, he reached Dexing Temple in the southwest, five li east of Hui's village. From afar he called: "Cheng Huihe, why do you not come out to welcome me?" He called repeatedly without stopping. A farmer told him, saying: "He has long been dead; there is no way he can welcome you." An said: "These are reckless words; I do not believe them." He soon arrived at the village and cried out loudly in a stern voice. He thereupon moved his body; his relatives cut the binding ropes. When An entered his courtyard and cried out to him loudly again, He suddenly rose, crawled up to An. [An] ordered the removal of the coffin implements and had an overturned basket used as a Buddha seat, telling He to circumambulate it; soon he was as he had been before, and lived for some twenty more years. Later, encountering severe illness, he came to turn to him and beg for rescue. An said: "You were allowed to wander freely; this is not my doing." Thereupon he died. An old mother of Bai Village north of Kunming Lake lay ill on her pillow and had lost her voice for a hundred days. She gestured to her sons and daughters that she longed to see An's form. Understanding their mother's wish, they invited him to come to the house. When the sick mother saw him, she unconsciously stepped down to welcome him, inquiring after his health just as on ordinary days, and the location of her illness was immediately lost. At that time his fame was even more renowned. Villages and settlements gathered together, each leading music and going from house to house to announce that they wished to set up a great vegetarian feast. In Dafang Village, Tian Yisheng was utterly destitute, yet had four daughters. His wife wore tattered cloth that only reached her knees. The four daughters were naked; the eldest daughter was named Huayan, already twenty years of age, and had only two chi of coarse cloth intended to serve as dāna. An led the village assembly and next reached their gate; pitying this extreme poverty, he passed by without entering. The eldest daughter thought: "Because of our bitter poverty, we cannot participate in the gathering of blessings; if we do not cultivate it now, the future will be twice as bad." Searching all around for items, all was desolate and there was nowhere to obtain anything. Looking upward and weeping sorrowfully, she then saw a handful of tangled hemp in the roof ridge used to block a skylight; pulling it down and shaking it out, she obtained more than ten grains of grain, which she rubbed to make rice, and intended to use it along with the cloth to participate in the rejoicing. Since her body had no clothes, she waited until night fell, crawled along, and headed for the place of the vegetarian feast. She threw the previously offered cloth into the crowd from afar, and offered the ten-odd grains of rice separately for cooking the rice. Thereupon she made a vow, saying: "A woman's impoverished karma has long been planted by herself. Exhausting my poverty to practice giving, I hope for future retribution. I casually throw these ten-odd grains of yellow rice into the rice steamer; if through perfect sincerity my impoverished karma is exhausted, I vow that the cooked rice will entirely turn yellow; if there is no response, what can be done about fate?" Having made this vow, she wiped away her tears and returned. Thereupon, the five dan of rice in the steamer all turned yellow. The great assembly was astonished and sighed, not knowing the cause. Searching all around for the origin, they said it was the power of the vow of Tian Yisheng's daughter. The feast gathering collected together and obtained ten hu of grain, which was promptly used to aid her. An prepared Dharma robes, ordained Huayan, and sent her into a monastery in the capital. Once, in a village beside the niche, three pigs were tied up and about to be slaughtered. An heard of it and went to ransom them. The villagers, fearing they would not get to slaughter them, raised the price and demanded ten thousand cash. An said: "This poor monk currently has three thousand, which is already ten times the original price and can be given to you." The crowd had differing opinions and argued angrily with one another. Suddenly a small child wrapping his belly came to the village gathering to assist An in ransoming the pigs. Since there was already dispute, he thereupon begged for wine from them, drinking and dancing as he went, turning around dazzlingly, whereupon the eyes of both old and young in the entire village all lost their sight. In a moment he vanished of himself, unknown where he went. An then drew a knife and cut his own thigh flesh, saying: "This and that are both flesh. Pigs eat filth and you eat them; how much more so should human beings who eat rice be valued according to reason?" When the villagers heard and saw this, they released them all at once. Once the pigs were freed, they circumambulated An three times and nudged him with their snouts as if with affection and respect. Therefore, within fifty li southwest of the suburbs, chickens and pigs have had their lineage severed even down to the present day. His inspiring of kindness and compassion was all of this sort. On the fifth day of the eleventh month in the fifth year of Daye, he died in Jingfa Chan Cloister at the age of eighty.