神僧傳 7.10

7.10

Master Wanhui was a native of Wenxiang. His secular surname was Zhang. Initially, his mother prayed before an image of Avalokiteśvara, and as a result she became pregnant with Hui. Hui was born simple-minded. Only at eight or nine years of age did he begin to speak. His parents also reared him like a pig or a dog. When he grew up, his father ordered him to plow the fields. Hui plowed straight ahead without looking back, his mouth only constantly chanting, 'Equality.' In plowing a single ridge, he went for several tens of li, stopping only when he met an obstruction of a ditch or pit. His father beat him in anger. Hui said, 'In general plowing, what difference is there between self and other?' [His father] then stopped beating him and ceased his plowing. Hui's elder brother was on garrison duty in Anxi, and communication was cut off; their parents assumed he was dead. Day and night they wept and grieved incessantly. Seeing his parents moved with such deep grief, Hui suddenly knelt and said, 'Are your tears not out of anxiety for my brother?' His parents were partly credulous and partly doubtful, and said, 'Yes.' Hui said, 'Think carefully of what my brother needs by way of clothes and parched grain; please prepare them all. I will go and see him.' Suddenly one day, in the morning he took what had been prepared and left; by evening he had returned home. He told his parents, 'My brother is well.' Opening the letter and looking at it, it was indeed his brother's handwriting. The whole family marveled at him. From Hongnong to Anxi was more than ten thousand li. Because he had returned from ten thousand li, he was called Wanhui ('Ten-Thousand-Li Return'). Prior to this, when Xuanzang went to the Buddha Land to fetch the scriptures, he saw an inscription on a Buddhist niche stating, 'The Bodhisattva Wanhui has been exiled to the land of Wenxiang to teach and transform.' Xuanzang rode post-horses to Wenxiang and asked, 'Is there a Wanhui here or not?' and ordered him summoned. When Wanhui arrived, Xuanzang paid homage to him, gave him the three robes, a water jar, and a bowl, and departed. Later, Zetian summoned him into the palace, and many matters he spoke of were verified. At that time, Zhang Yizhi was building a massive residence. Wanhui once pointed at it and said, 'Jiangzuo (Work of the Directorate of Palace Buildings).' No one understood him. When Yizhi was executed, his residence was turned into the Directorate of Palace Buildings (Jiangzuo Jian). He once said to Commoner Wei and Princess Anle, 'The Third Son will chop off your heads.' Since Emperor Zhongzong was the third son, Commoner Wei feared the Emperor would cause trouble and thereupon poisoned him, not realizing she would be executed by Xuanzong [who was also the third son]. During the Empress's reign, when cruel officials were employed to fabricate false accusations, officials of somewhat higher rank bade farewell to their wives and children daily. At that time, Cui Riyong, Wu Pingyi, Song Zhiwen, Shen Quanqi, Cen Xi, and Xue Ji all made solemn bows and courteously inquired after Hui when they saw him. The gentlemen said, 'Each of us wishes for a single word from the holy man to determine our fortune.' Patting Shen on the back, he said, 'You are a true man of talent.' Shen could not contain his joy and said, 'The holy man has conferred a prophecy upon me; fellow disciples, you must dispute it no more.' He also said to Wu, 'I shall name you Buddhist Child, and you shall have no worries.' Looking at Xi and Ji, he wore an ill-favoured expression. Cen used his horse to avoid him. Looking at Ji, [Cen] said, 'This is a wild fox; why should his words be feared?' [Hui] then turned and said, 'You too will not escape.' When Xi and Ji were executed, people esteemed him even more. When Xuanzong was still in hiding, he went to visit him together with his disciple Zhang Wei and others. Upon seeing the Emperor, Hui treated him with utter indignity, taking a lacquered staff, shouting at him, and chasing him away. Those who had come with him were all driven out. He dragged the Emperor inside, locked the door behind them, patted the Emperor on the back, and said, 'Son of Heaven of fifty years of great peace, cherish yourself. What comes after, I know not.' Lord Zhang and the others clearly heard his words outside the door, and for this reason devoted their hearts to supporting [the Emperor]. The time after fifty years referred to the disaster of [An] Lushan. When Ruizong was still in his princely mansion, he would sometimes wander among the people. Wanhui would shout in the streets of the settlements, 'The Son of Heaven comes!' or 'The holy man comes!' Within a few days, Ruizong would surely pass by and linger there. Crown Prince Huizhuang was Ruizong's second son. Initially, Zetian showed him to Wanhui, who said, 'This child is the spirit of a great tree from the Western Regions; nourish him, and he will bring benefit to his brothers.' Later, Prince of Shen was born, whose appearance was magnificent and who was fond of drinking and eating. During the Jinglong era, he constantly went in and out [of the court], and gentry and commoners, noble and lowly, vied to come and pay homage. Wanhui wore a brocade robe; he would either laugh, scold, or beat a drum, and afterwards events were verified accordingly. Princess Taiping built a residence for him to the right of her own. During the Jingyun era, he passed away in this residence. Nearing death, he shouted loudly, sending people to fetch river water from his home village. His disciples and companions searched for it to no avail. Wanhui said, 'Before the hall is river water.' They then dug a well below the steps, and suddenly river water gushed forth. Having finished drinking, he passed away. To this day, the well water of this ward remains sweet and pleasant.