弘贊法華傳 7.6

7.6

釋道樹。壽春石㵎人。蔬食長齋。誦法華一部。禪思通徹。遠近欽敬。住壽門山頂寺。時住聚落。應赴齊供。就他乞衣食者。必是為之轉厄。將物永去。災障轉移。退物更還。禍即不滅。有人姓鄭。請樹宿齊。誦經始訖。端坐思念。忽云。徵相不好。見一棺木。破某處入。從某處生。於是。合家次第來問。並云非也。至少新婦曰。或是汝耶。宜好用心。少時。此婦因產而卒。又一時。諸尼在鄭寺。共學經聲。樹來觀。歷到一沙彌尼。斂眉語曰。爾須懺悔。更二年嬰百牛疾。乞活道路。果如其言。預記多驗。年九十餘卒。即天保中也。

Śramaṇa Daoshu was a native of Shijian in Shouchun. Consuming vegetarian food and maintaining perpetual fasting, he recited the entire Lotus Sūtra. His meditative reflection was penetrating, and he was admired and revered far and wide. He resided at the summit monastery of Mount Shoumen, and occasionally stayed in the villages to attend vegetarian offerings. Whenever he begged for clothing or food from others, it was certainly to avert disaster on their behalf: if he took the item permanently away, calamities and obstacles would be transferred [away from them]; if the item were returned, disaster would not be extinguished. There was a man surnamed Zheng who invited Shu to stay overnight for a vegetarian fast. As soon as the recitation of the sūtra was concluded, [Shu] sat upright in contemplation and suddenly said, "The omens are unfavorable. I see a coffin breaking in from a certain place and emerging from a certain place." Thereupon, the whole family came in turn to inquire, and all were told that it was not them. Coming to the youngest bride, he said, "Perhaps it is you? You should take good care of your mind." A short time later, this woman died due to childbirth. On another occasion, several nuns were at Zheng's monastery collectively studying the recitation of the sūtra. Shu came to observe, and when he reached a certain śrāmaṇerikā, he knit his brows and spoke to her, saying, "You must repent. In another two years, you will suffer from a hundred-cattle illness and beg for life along the road." It turned out exactly as he had said. His advance prognostications were frequently verified. He died at over ninety years of age, during the Tianbao era.