弘贊法華傳 7.23

7.23

Shi Huixie, whose secular surname was Liu, was a native of Hailing. He left home at the age of nine, serving Dharma Master Ying of Changle Temple in Jiangdu Commandery as his disciple. When he reached the age of seventeen, he began to recite the Lotus Sūtra. When he was eighteen, his master passed away; only the portion following the "Apparition of the Jewel Stūpa" Chapter in the fourth roll remained unmastered. At the age of twenty-two, he contracted an epidemic illness. Desperately ill at the time, he single-mindedly concentrated on Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, as well as the sūtra he recited, praying for rescue from distress. Suddenly he dreamed that someone came to summon him and Zhida of the same temple, leading them away. They traversed steep mountains and trod through thorns and weeds, arriving shortly at a place like a modern government office. Courtyard walls, chambers, and corridors were complete and distinct, with ranks of heavily armed guards holding weapons. Entering the gate and looking ahead, he saw a person wearing a black silk cap and white robes, with a very fine beard and face, seated in the hall; it was said to be King Yama. There were no guards at his side. The summoner presented the documents, unfolding them on the desk before the king. The king immediately judged that the two of them, Xie and his companion, should be taken as personal attendants. Xie pleaded, "I vow to recite the Lotus Sūtra, but half a roll remains untraversed, and my merit is not yet complete; therefore my heart is not at ease." The king then made a judgment releasing Xie; looking from afar, the character "Release" was clearly visible. The king immediately called the one who had brought Huixie to come and strip off his clothes; he also summoned a person with horns on his head, resembling a ghost-soldier of today, holding a long whip, to flog this summoner. Xie then awoke with a start, calling upon Avalokiteśvara and Maitreya. In an instant, he saw an Indian monk holding a willow branch in his hand, and there was also a layman resembling a modern statue of Vimalakīrti, holding a bronze bowl of water with both hands. This monk brushed Xie with the willow branch, took water, and gave it to him to rinse his mouth, asking, "How many days have you been ill?" Xie replied, "Five days." The monk said, "On the sixth day you will surely recover." By the next morning, blood flowed from his nose, and he was completely sobered and revived. Shortly after Xie recovered from his illness, Zhida contracted the ailment, and within seven days, from beginning to end, he passed away. Xie was fully restored as before. Thereafter, he gave up all his bodily possessions to make images of Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, and also copied more than twenty sūtras, including the Lotus Sūtra and the Sigālovāda Sūtra. By the twelfth year of the Daye reign era (616 CE), Xie was forty-three years old; his end was subsequently unknown.