弘贊法華傳 9.12

9.12

In the kingdom of Silla, there was a Deciding Captain Jin who fathered a boy. From childhood the boy left home, taking delight in reading the Lotus Sūtra. When he reached the second scroll, he accidentally burned a single character. At the age of eighteen, he suddenly died an untimely death, and was reborn in the household of another Deciding Captain Jin in a different place. Once again he was able to leave home, and had a particular love for reading the Lotus Sūtra. Whenever he reached that one character in the second scroll, as soon as he asked about it he would immediately forget it. He dreamt that someone told him: 'In your previous life, Little Master, you were born into the household of a certain Deciding Captain Jin in that township, and also were able to leave home. In that life, when reading and chanting the Lotus Sūtra, you accidentally burned a single character. For this reason, in this present life, as soon as you learn it you forget it. That old sūtra still exists there; go there and look for yourself.' Following the dream, this Little Master went there to search for it, and indeed found the household. He inquired and asked to lodge for the night. The parents of his previous life dimly felt they recognized him. Searching for the old sūtra, they indeed saw in the second scroll that one character had truly been burned. The Little Master and his previous parents were overcome with mixed grief and joy. The two households thereupon became close friends, treating each other as one. They immediately reported the matter to the prefecture and county. The prefecture and county submitted a memorial to the throne, and it was celebrated and recounted throughout the whole country, not ceasing down to the present day. This was during the Zhenguan era.