弘贊法華傳 6.10

6.10

Shi Puming had the surname Zhang and was a native of Linwei. He went forth from the household in his youth; by nature pure and genuine, his gaze never exceeded his steps. Eating vegetarian food and wearing coarse cloth, he made repentance and recitation his endeavor. His three robes and rope-bed were never far from his body. If he wished to rest, he would sit and take a nap. He recited the two sūtras, the Lotus and the Vimalakīrti; when chanting, he had special robes and a special seat, never allowing any impurity. Whenever he reached the Chapter on Encouragement [of Samantabhadra], he would regularly see Samantabhadra riding an elephant, standing before him. Reciting the Vimalakīrti Sūtra, he would also hear singing and music in the sky. He was also skilled in divine dhāraṇīs; whomever he treated was healed. There was a fellow townsman named Wang Daozhen whose wife was ill; he invited Ming to come and chant mantras. When Ming entered the gate, the wife immediately fainted. Soon, a creature resembling a wildcat, several feet long, was seen emerging from the doghole; because of this, she recovered. Ming once walked by a shrine beside the water, and the shamans said of themselves that when the spirits saw him, they all fled. Later, falling ill, he sat upright and burned incense, and passed away without anyone noticing. He died during the Xiaojian era of the Song at the age of eighty-five.