神僧傳 8.32

8.32

Shi Lingmo's secular surname was Xuan, and he was a native of Piling. At first he studied under Great Master Ma of Yuzhang. Later he stayed at Baisha Sanctuary for two years; fierce tigers came to be tamed, and one gave birth to cubs near the woods as if seeking shelter. He also stayed at the Eastern Sanctuary, where the place was remote and people were few. One night, the mountain spirit sent violent thunder and rainstorms, causing the sheer cliff to collapse; by daybreak a large tree had fallen askew beside the hermitage, its branches interlaced, yet the thatched eaves suffered not the slightest damage. Far and near, those who heard of it came to behold and marvel. Later he traveled to Mount Dongbai, where he was suddenly poisoned. Instead of seeking a physician, he shut his doors and sat quietly in meditation; before long, the poison transformed into perspiration and dripped away, whereupon he returned to normal. Early in the Yuanhe reign, there was a prolonged drought, and the people all looked about in panic like wolves. Mo walked along a mountain stream and saw a blue snake coiled handsomely, staring with fixed eyes as if gazing at passers-by without moving. He scolded it, saying: "The common people are parched and the crops are withering; why do you not send rain to save the people?" When night came, heavy rain indeed fell, and throughout the entire region it was reported to be sufficient; the people were indebted to his blessing. Sometime later, he bathed, burned incense, sat upright on a rope-bed, and passed away. His age was seventy-two, his monastic age forty-one.