神僧傳 7.42

7.42

Chan Master Yiguang resided at Qinglong Monastery, and his conduct and practice were exceedingly high. A court official, having lost his wife, invited the master to his house to cultivate merit. The master stayed at his home for several days, residing in the front verandah, where grand offerings were presented to him. It was the custom among commoners, whenever someone died, to consult a medium, who would then declare: 'On the day when the noxious influence emerges, there will inevitably be harm.' The deceased's family would mostly go out to avoid it. That night, the court official's household all went out through the north gate, slipping away secretly without informing the master. The master merely kept a lamp lit in front of the hall and read sūtras, while eleven disciples attended him. Toward midnight, he heard someone get up in the hall, take clothes, and open the door. A woman emerged from the hall and went straight to the kitchen to prepare food, drawing water and blowing on the fire. The master took her to be one of the household and found nothing strange. When dawn was about to break, the woman brought in the meal, holding up the tray before him. She still wore a face covering, was barefoot, and bowed twice, saying: 'I have troubled the master to come here. Now the household members have all gone out, and fearing that the vegetarian gruel would miss its proper time, this disciple arose purposely to prepare it for the master.' The master knew that she was the deceased. He then accepted her offering and was just reciting a blessing, but before the blessing was finished, the sound of the hall's north door opening was heard. The woman said hurriedly, 'My son has come!' and ran into the hall; thereupon weeping was heard. When the weeping ended, the household members came to the master to inquire after his well-being. Seeing the gruel on the tray, they asked the master, 'Last night we disciples truly went out to avoid the calamity, without letting the master know that there was no one in the house. Who made this gruel?' The master smiled and did not answer. A maidservant inside the hall said in astonishment: 'Why was the deceased lying crosswise during the night, her hands stained with flour and her feet coated with mud? What can this mean?' The master then pointed to the prepared gruel to show them, and the entire family was filled with marvel and wonder.