神僧傳 6.38

6.38

Śramaṇa Hongfang was originally from the capital region. He renounced household life in his youth and subsequently attained the fruit of the Way. His mind was set on dhyāna stillness, yet he also took expounding the scriptures as his duty, and his disciples often numbered in the hundreds. One day, early at night as Hongfang sat alone, four men came before him and said, "King of Ghosts Yama is now holding a vegetarian feast because his young daughter's illness has ceased, and he invites you, Master, to attend." Hongfang said, "I am a human and you are ghosts; how could I reach there?" The four men said, "Ācārya, simply proceed; we disciples are able to bring you there." Hongfang complied with them. The four men mounted horses, each holding one leg of a rope-bed, and then traveled north for about several hundred li to a mountain. In the mountain there was a small vermilion gate. The four men asked Hongfang to close his eyes. In less than the time of a meal, the men said, "Open them, we have already arrived at the king's court." Its palaces and halls were exceedingly lofty and steep, and the attendants and guards were splendidly arrayed, quite equal to a human sovereign's. The ghost king, fully adorned in cap and robes, descended the steps to greet him with bows. The king said, "I have a young daughter who was long ill, and now she is fortunately recovered. Desiring to produce a little merit, I have arranged a vegetarian feast, and for this reason invited you, Master, to grace us with your presence. When the feast is concluded, I shall naturally have attendants send you back, so have no concern." Thereupon he invited him to enter the palace. The feast ground was adorningly decorated and magnificent, with nearly ten thousand monks and exceedingly many Buddha images, just like human affairs. Hongfang looked up at the sky and did not see the bright sun, appearing like heavy overcast in the human realm. Soon, the king's consort and several hundred women of the inner palace all came out to pay homage. The king's daughter was fourteen or fifteen years old, her complexion alone retaining a sickly pallor. Hongfang chanted praises and made vows for her. When it was finished, he saw people carrying more than a thousand ivory platters of food arrive, which were arranged in order before the seats of the monks. On a large bed for Hongfang, famous delicacies were separately placed, exceedingly fragrant and pure. As Hongfang was about to eat, the ghost king addressed him, saying, "If the Master were to dwell here long, you should partake of ghost food; but I dare not detain you, Master, so please do not eat." Hongfang was frightened and stopped. When the feast was over, the leftover food still amounted to several hundred platters. Hongfang saw that nearly a thousand attendant officials and ministers all wore an expression of desiring to eat. Hongfang asked the king to bestow the leftover food upon them. The king said, "Hurry, take it and bestow it upon them." The various officials bowed in thanks, looked at one another and laughed happily, their mouths opening all the way to their ears. The king then knelt and said, "Since the Master has kindly visited, I have no other offering, but I have five hundred bolts of fine silk to present to the Master; I request you to administer the eight precepts of abstinence." The Master said, "Ghost silk is paper; I have no use for it." The king said, "It is truly human silk presented to you, Master." Thereupon he administered the eight precepts of abstinence to him. When the precepts were completed, the king again ordered the former four men to escort him back as before. Hongfang suddenly opened his eyes and had already reached his residence; dawn had not yet broken. His disciples had merely thought he had entered dhyāna, unaware of where he had gone. Hongfang suddenly opened his eyes and ordered a torch to illuminate the bed; the five hundred bolts of silk were right there before him. When his disciples asked about it, he then told them the reason. Since Hongfang's dhyāna practice was originally exalted, his renown grew daily. His recent journey to the realm of ghosts had been merely his spirit going, while his physical form had not moved. Not long after, while sitting in the morning, two heavenly beings of extraordinarily magnificent appearance bowed and requested, saying, "Heavenly King of the South, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, invites the Master to heaven for an offering." Hongfang agreed to it. They then spread out a heavenly robe to seat Hongfang on; the two beings held the robe, raised it, and soared into the sky. In an instant, they had already reached the southern heaven. The king led his attendants, bowed deeply, and said, "The Master's path of practice is lofty and distant; the gods wish to see the Master expound and chant, and for this reason I have boldly invited the Master." Thereupon he set up a high seat and seated Hongfang. The bodhimaṇḍa was magnificent and beautiful, surpassing the human realm by hundreds of thousands of times. The heavenly beings were all tall and large, their bodies having light; the palace halls and trees were all of the seven jewels, completely possessing brilliance that dazzled human eyes. When Hongfang first arrived in heaven, his physical form was still that of a human; after seeing the Heavenly King, his body naturally grew tall and large, equal to the heavenly beings. Various rare delicacies were served, all possessing natural flavors, exceedingly sweet and delicious. When the meal was finished, the king then invited him to enter the palace, further arranged offering utensils, and conversed most cordially. His attendant heavenly officials together with ghosts and spirits were very numerous. Later he suddenly said, "I, your disciple, wish to go to the Heaven of the Thirty-three to deliberate on affairs; I ask the Master to stay a short while. He also admonished his attendants, saying, "Wherever the Master wishes to tour and view, allow it; but do not let him go to the rear garden." Having said this repeatedly, he departed. After he left, Hongfang thought, "What harm is there in the rear garden that he does not want me to reach it?" Waiting until a time when no one was around, he secretly went to the rear garden. The garden was very large, with flowing springs and ponds; trees, flowers, and medicinal herbs were everywhere, none of which were known to the human realm. Going gradually deeper, he heard from afar a loud groaning and screaming that was unbearable to hear. He then went beside it and saw a great bronze pillar several hundred feet in diameter and a thousand zhang high; the pillar had perforated holes passing through left and right. Some were locked around the crown of their heads with silver fetters, and some had their chest bones pierced through, numbering up to several tens of thousands; their heads were all yakṣas, with saw-like teeth and hooked claws, their bodies double the size of the heavenly beings. Seeing the dhyāna master arrive, they kowtowed and said they were hungry, saying, "Because we ate humans, we were locked up by the Heavenly King. Now we beg you to release us. If we obtain deliverance, we will only seek other food in the human realm, and certainly not dare to eat humans and cause harm. We are pressed by hunger and thirst!" When uttering these words, fire came out of their mouths. When he asked when they had been locked up, some said it was during the appearance in the world of Vipaśyin Buddha, easily several tens of millions of years ago. There were also three to five elderly ones whose words were sincere and earnest in resolve; the monk promised to untie their bonds, and then hurried back. In an instant the king arrived, and first asked, "Did the Master tour the rear garden at all?" The attendants said, "No." The king was pleased and sat down. Hongfang said, "Just now I went to the rear garden and saw several tens of thousands of sentient beings locked up. What was their fault?" The king said disheartenedly, "The Master indeed toured the rear garden! However, small compassion is the thief of great compassion; the Master need not ask." Hongfang persistently asked again. The king said, "These evil ghosts constantly harm humans and only eat human flesh. Were it not for the protection of the gods, the people of the world would have already been devoured entirely by these ghosts. These are all greatly evil ghosts and cannot be treated with reason; therefore they are locked up." Hongfang said, "Just now I saw three to five elderly ones whose words were quite sincere, saying they would only seek other food in the human realm; I ask to pardon them. If this group does not eat [humans], the others may also be released." The king said, "How can the words of these ghosts be trusted?" Hongfang earnestly requested it. The king looked at his attendants and ordered them to untie the three to five elderly ones and bring them. Presently they were untied and arrived, kowtowing and saying, "We have received the grace of being released. Our years are already old; now that we are able to go, we will certainly not dare to disturb humans." The king said, "Because of the dhyāna master, I release you to the human realm. If you eat humans again, when you are brought back this time, I shall cause you to die painfully." They all said, "We dare not." Thereupon they were released. Before long, suddenly a deity was seen arriving before the king's court, calling himself the spirit of the mountains and streams, clad in armor with a golden-colored face, running in haste. He said, "From an unknown place, four or five yakṣas have suddenly arrived in the human realm, killing people and eating flesh in great numbers, and cannot be restrained; therefore I report it." The king said to Hongfang, "How about what I, your disciple, said? Just now I told the Master that small compassion is the thief of great compassion; how could the words of these evil ghosts be vouched for?" He said to the deities, "Hurry and capture them." Presently the deities captured the yakṣas and arrived. The king said angrily, "Why did you violate your petition?" He ordered their hands and feet to be severed, their chests pierced with iron chains, and that they be dragged away and locked up. Hongfang then requested to return. He again ordered the former two persons to escort him to the monastery. The monastery had already lost Hongfang for two times seven days, but in heaven it seemed like only a short while. In the city of Shan, Hongfang chose an open expanse of land to build Longguang Monastery, and also established an infirmary to constantly support several hundred sick people. The monastery was extremely lofty and magnificent, and monastics and laypeople from far and near came to take refuge like clouds. Then he was invited by Śakra Devānām Indra. In the morning, as Hongfang was just rinsing his mouth, a yakṣa arrived before him, with a five-colored felt blanket draped over his left shoulder, and said, "King of the Gods Śakra invites the Master to expound the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra." Hongfang silently sat back down. The yakṣa then grasped the rope-bed with his hands, placed it on his left shoulder, and said, "I ask the Master to close his eyes." Then raising his left hand and extending his right foot, he said, "I ask the Master to open his eyes." Looking, he had already arrived at the Sudharmā Hall. After the dhyāna master arrived in the heavenly hall, the heavenly light dazzled his eyes so that he could not open them. The Heavenly Emperor said, "Master, be mindful of Maitreya." Hongfang hurriedly became mindful of him; thereupon his eyes opened without being dazzled. But his human body was low and small; looking up at the heavenly forms, he could not see their bounds. The Heavenly Emperor also said, "Dhyāna master, be mindful of Maitreya Buddha again, and your body's form will become large." He was mindful as told; with three thoughts, his body grew three times larger, subsequently becoming equal to the gods. The Heavenly Emperor and the various gods paid homage and said, "We disciples have heard of the Master's skill in expounding the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra for a long time. Now the gods admire and have respectfully set up a bodhimaṇḍa, and thereby invite the Great Master to expound the scripture and let us listen and receive it." Hongfang said, "The matter of expounding the scripture is truly no labor; however, in Hongfang's infirmary there are several hundred sick people who rely on Hongfang for their lives, and I constantly practice begging to supply them. If I now linger to expound the scripture, in the human realm it will easily involve years, and I fear the sick people will starve to death. Now I firmly decline." The Heavenly Emperor said, "The bodhimaṇḍa is already completed and this vow has been held for a long time; therefore I request the Great Master not to decline." Hongfang would not agree. Suddenly in the sky there was a great heavenly being whose body was again several times larger than the gods; the Heavenly Emperor respectfully arose to greet him. The great heavenly being spoke, saying, "The Great Brahmā Heavenly King has a decree." When the heavenly being had departed, the Heavenly Emperor said disheartenedly, "Originally I wished to detain the Master to expound the scripture, but now Brahmā has an order not permitting it. However, since the Master has already arrived, could you not briefly open the scriptural scrolls and expound a little of the essential doctrine to cause the heavenly beings to believe and receive it?" Hongfang consented. Thereupon food was served; the eating vessels were all of the seven jewels, and the food and drink were fragrant, delicious, exquisite, and marvelous, double the ordinary. After the dhyāna master had eaten, all the pores of his body emitted extraordinary light, and from within the pores he could view all things; only then did he realize the superior marvel of a heavenly body. Having eaten, a high golden seat was set up, spread with heavenly robes; Hongfang then mounted the seat. Within the Sudharmā Hall were hundreds of thousands of myriads of gods, together with the Four Heavenly Kings each leading their retinues, assembling together to listen to the Dharma. Below the steps to the left and right were dragon kings, yakṣas, various ghosts and spirits, humans, non-humans, and the like, all joining their palms and listening. Hongfang then opened the Nirvāṇa-sūtra and expounded a little more than one sheet from the beginning, his words elegant and fluent, fully proclaiming the essential doctrine. The Heavenly Emperor greatly praised the merit. When the opening of the scripture was finished, he again ordered the former yakṣa to escort him to his original monastery. His disciples had already lost Hongfang for twenty-seven days.