弘贊法華傳 6.12

6.12

Shi Daoshou: it is not known where he was from. He was pure, harmonious, calm, and quiet, renowned for his reverence and filial piety. He received the five precepts and never broke them. During the Yuanjia era, he went into mourning for his father. Through his grief he contracted an illness; he had no aches or pains, but became emaciated, sallow, and reduced to skin and bones. Years passed, and all treatments failed to cure him. Thereupon he made a vow, wishing that once his illness was cured he would leave household life. After making this vow, he gradually recovered. Leaving secular life as he had vowed, he lived at Jetavana Monastery (Qihuan si). His diligence and austere practice were extraordinary; he recited the Lotus Sūtra three thousand times and often saw auspicious omens of light. On the night of the seventh day of the ninth month in the sixteenth year of the Yuanjia era, he saw a jeweled canopy suspended in the air, covering him from above. Later it was not known where he ended his days.