神僧傳 9.17

9.17

Śramaṇa Qici's family name and origin are unknown; some say he was from Siming. In appearance he was corpulent and scruffy, with a furrowed brow and a potbelly. His speech was erratic, and he slept wherever he lay. He always carried a cloth sack on a staff into markets and bazaars. Seeing goods, he would beg for them, and whether fermented sauces, fish, or dried meat, as soon as it touched his mouth, he would put a little into his sack. He was called the Cloth Sack Master, Changtingzi. He once lay down in the snow, yet there was no snow on his body, at which people marvelled. Also, whenever he begged a sip of something from someone, goods in that shop would sell out. Inside his sack were all manner of personal requisites. When revealing good or bad fortune to people, he always manifested omens: in severe drought he would drag high-toothed wooden clogs and sleep on a market bridge with knees drawn up; in heavy rains he would wear wet straw sandals. By this people tested and knew [the weather]. In the Tianfu era he passed away in Fengchuan township. The local people buried him together. Later, in other prefectures, people saw this monk again, walking along, still carrying a cloth sack. Between the Jiang and Zhe regions, many painted his portrait.