弘贊法華傳 9.7

9.7

釋智達。益州素寺僧也。行頗流俗。而善經唄。時誦法華。年二十三。宋元徽三年六月病死。身煖不斂。遂延二日。入息稍還。至三日旦。而能言。自說。始困之時。見兩人皆著黃布袴褶。一人立于戶外。一人徑造床前。曰。上人應去。可下地。達曰。貧道體羸。不堪涉道。此人復曰。可乘輿。而輿至。達既升之。意識恍然。不復見家人屋室。及所乘輿。四望極目。但覩荒野。途逕艱危。示道登躡。二人驅之。不得𠇾息。至一朱門。牆闥甚華。達入至堂下。堂上有一貴人。朱幘專床坐。姿貌嚴達。甚有威容。左右兵衛百許人。皆朱衣柱刀。列直森然。貴人見達。乃斂容正坐。謂曰。出家之人。何置多過。達曰。有識以來。不憶作罪。問曰。誦戒度不。達曰。初受具足之時。實常習誦。比遂廢講。恒事轉輕。故於誦戒。時有虧損。復曰。沙門而不誦戒。此非法。可且讀經。達即誦法華三契而止。貴人。勅所錄達人曰。可送置惡地。勿令大苦。二人引達將去。行數十里。稍聞轟磕橈聲沸天。而前路轉闇。次至一門。高數十丈。色甚堅黑。蓋鐵門也。牆亦如此。達心自念。經說地獄。此其是矣。乃大恐怖。悔在世時不修業行。及入門裏。橈聲轉壯。久久靜聽。方知是人叫呼之響。門裏轉闇。無所復見。時有火光。乍滅乍揚。見數人反縛前行。後有數人。執叉刺之。血流泉涌。其人乃達從伯母。彼此相見。意欲共語。有人曳之殊疾。不暇得言。入門二百許步。見有一物。形如米圌。可高丈餘。二人執達。擲置圌上。裏有火。爛燒達身。半體皆爛。痛不可忍。自圌墮地悶絕。良久。二人復將達去。見有鐵鑊十餘。皆煮罪人。人在鑊中。隨沸出沒。鑊側有人。以叉刺之。或有攀鑊出者。兩目潰突。舌出尺餘。肉盡折爛。而猶不死。諸鑊皆滿。唯一尚空。二人謂達曰。上人即時應入此中。達聞其言。肝膽塗地。乃請之曰。幸聽貧道一時禮佛。便至心稽首。願免此苦。伏地食頃。祈悔特至。既而四望。無所復見。唯覩平原茂樹。風景清明。而二人猶導達行。至一樓下。樓形高小。上有人裁得容坐。謂達曰。沙門受輕報。殊可欣也。達於樓下。忽然不覺。還就時身。

Śramaṇa Zhida was a monk of Su Temple in Yi Prefecture. His conduct was rather worldly, but he was skilled in chanting sūtras and regularly recited the Lotus Sūtra. At the age of twenty-three, in the sixth month of the third year of the Yuanhui reign era of the Song, he fell ill and died. His body remained warm and was not encoffined, and thus two days passed. His breath gradually returned, and on the morning of the third day he was able to speak. He recounted himself: When he first fell critically ill, he saw two men, both wearing yellow cloth trousers and jackets. One stood outside the door and the other went straight to his bed, saying, "The reverend should depart; you may step down to the ground." Zhida said, "This impoverished monk's body is weak and cannot endure walking the road." This man said again, "You may ride a palanquin." Thereupon a palanquin arrived, and when Zhida got in, his consciousness became bewildered, and he no longer saw his family, the room, or the palanquin he rode in. Looking as far as his eyes could see in all directions, he beheld only a desolate wilderness, with the roads rugged and perilous. Showing him the way, they climbed and trod along; the two men hurried him on so that he could not catch his breath. They arrived at a vermilion gate whose walls and portals were magnificent. Zhida entered and reached the foot of the hall. Upon the hall was a nobleman wearing a vermilion cap, sitting alone on a couch, his appearance stern and dignified, possessing great awe-inspiring authority. There were about a hundred guards to his left and right, all in red garments leaning on swords, ranked straight and formidable. When the nobleman saw Zhida, he composed his expression, sat upright, and addressed him, saying, "A person who has left household life, why have you accumulated so many transgressions?" Zhida said, "Since I attained awareness, I do not recall committing sins." He asked, "Have you recited the precepts or not?" Zhida said, "When I first received full ordination, I indeed practiced reciting them regularly. Recently, however, I neglected lectures, and constant affairs made me increasingly heedless, so in reciting the precepts I at times had lapses." He said again, "To be a śramaṇa and not recite the precepts is contrary to the Dharma. For now, you may read a sūtra." Zhida thereupon recited the Lotus Sūtra for three sections and ceased. The nobleman ordered the men who had brought Zhida, saying, "You may take him and place him in an evil realm, but do not subject him to great torment." The two men led Zhida away. After walking several tens of li, he gradually heard a deafening clamor of clashing noise boiling up to the heavens, while the road ahead grew increasingly dark. Next, they arrived at a gate several tens of zhang high, extremely hard and black in color—it was evidently an iron gate—and the walls were likewise. Zhida thought to himself, "The sūtras speak of hell; this must be it." He was seized with great terror, regretting that while in the world he had not cultivated meritorious practice. When he entered within the gate, the clamor grew louder, and listening quietly for a long while, he only then realized that it was the sound of people screaming. Inside the gate it grew darker, so that nothing could be seen; only now and then was there the light of flames, now extinguishing, now flaring up. He saw several people bound with their hands behind them walking forward, followed by several people stabbing them with pitchforks, their blood flowing like a gushing spring. One of those people was Zhida's paternal aunt; when they saw each other, they wished to speak, but someone dragged her along very swiftly, so she had no time to say anything. Two hundred or so paces inside the gate, he saw an object shaped like a grain bin, about a zhang or more in height. The two men seized Zhida and threw him onto the bin. Inside there was fire, which severely scorched Zhida's body; half of his body was completely roasted, the pain unbearable. He fell from the bin to the ground, unconscious. After a long while, the two men led Zhida away again, and he saw more than ten iron cauldrons, all boiling sinners. The people inside the cauldrons rose and sank with the boiling fluid; beside the cauldrons were people stabbing them with pitchforks. Some clutched the cauldrons trying to climb out, their eyes burst and protruding, their tongues extended more than a foot, their flesh completely shredded and roasted, yet still they did not die. All the cauldrons were full, and only one remained empty. The two men said to Zhida, "The reverend should enter into this one immediately." When Zhida heard their words, his liver and gall fell to the ground in terror. He then implored them, saying, "I beg you to grant this impoverished monk a moment to pay homage to the Buddha." He then bowed with utmost devotion, praying to be spared this suffering. Lying prostrate on the ground for the duration of a meal, he prayed and repented with extraordinary earnestness. After this, when he looked all around, he saw none of those things anymore, beholding only a flat plain with luxuriant trees, the landscape clear and bright. The two men were still leading Zhida along, and they arrived beneath a tower. The tower was tall and small; atop it was a person barely able to sit, who said to Zhida, "For a śramaṇa to receive a light retribution is indeed something to rejoice in." Beneath the tower, Zhida suddenly lost awareness, and returned to his present body.