弘贊法華傳 8.7

8.7

The pure-faith layman Wei Zhonggui was a native of Linqiong. By nature filial and fraternal, he was respected by his village. At the age of seventeen, his outstanding character was especially distinguished, and he served as Chief of Mengyang. His father, Lian, had repeatedly returned in old age from Ziyang Commandery. During the Wude era, he fell ill; Zhonggui did not remove his cap and belt, diligently caring for him with filial devotion. When his father died, he sent away his wives and concubines and built a hut by the grave. He especially believed in the Buddhist teachings and recited the Lotus Sūtra: by day he carried earth to build the mound, and by night he devoted himself to reciting this scripture, with diligent sincerity unflagging throughout the passing years. Frequently, a fierce beast would come before the hut at night, crouching to listen to the sūtra without leaving for a long time. Zhonggui held right mindfulness and thought: "I do not wish for the fierce beast to press so close." The beast immediately stood up and left. The next morning, he saw seventy-three stalks of lingzhi mushrooms growing around the grave. In front of the mound, they stood in orderly rows as if planted by human hands, all with vermilion stems and purple caps, the caps measuring two inches in diameter and possessing an extraordinary glow. The neighbors reported this to the prefecture and county. At that time, Xin Junchang was the prefectural governor and Shen Yu was the vice governor; they went together to the grave to inspect it. Suddenly, a bird like a duck, holding two fish in its beak, each about a foot long, flew and landed in front of Junchang, set the fish on the ground, and departed. Junchang and the others sighed in deepest admiration, picked the lingzhi mushrooms, sealed them, and submitted a memorial requesting imperial commendation. Afterwards, it is not known how he ended his days.