法華傳記 3.6

3.6

釋慧如者。住真寂寺。精勤苦行。坐禪入定以為務。隋大業中。坐禪之隙。修行妙法。講肆既散。定遂七日不動。眾驚異之。過七日已。慧如開目涕泣。夫流如雨。眾人驚怪問所由。如答曰。火燒脚苦痛不可堪任。即令見瘡。脚燒烟通穴。眾復問禪師。何得斯瘡。如曰。有一冥官。來投封書。自稱閻魔王使者。即披書狀云。師戒珠清高。捨信禪師三階邪說。依歸法華。開講演說。渡苦海舟檝。願垂哀愍。即被閻羅王請。七日講法華。無數罪人。種佛道因緣。王歡喜。以黃絹三十疋。奉施於吾。講散王問。欲見先亡知識不。答欲見二人。王即遣喚一人。唯見龜來舐我足下。目中淚出而去。一人云。罪重不可喚。令就見之。使者引吾至獄門。門閉甚固。使喚守者。有人應師。忽避道莫當門立。吾始避而門開。大火從門流出。如鍛鐵迸火。即著吾脚。如拂之舉目視門。已閉竟。不得相見而去。吾還王所。具語始末。王曰。地獄如斯。非法華力。不可救濟。若欲救之。將須講讀妙法。如此之事。吾今見聞覺悟而已。眾聞者悲喜（出冥志記。然冥報記中。雖明此緣。不云講法華。當知著記所聞不同）。

Shi Huiru resided at Zhenji Monastery. He practiced bitter austerities with diligent devotion, taking seated meditation and entering samādhi as his chief duty. During the Daye era of the Sui, in intervals between seated meditation, he cultivated the practice of the Saddharma. When the lecture hall dispersed, he entered a samādhi and remained motionless for seven days, which amazed the community. After the seven days had elapsed, Huiru opened his eyes, weeping tears that streamed down like rain. Startled, the assembly asked the cause. Huiru answered, saying: "My feet were burned by fire, and the agony was unbearable." He immediately showed them his sores; smoke and open cavities passed through the burns on his feet. The community asked the Dhyāna master again: "How did you obtain these sores?" Huiru said: "An official of the underworld came and presented a sealed letter, claiming to be an envoy of King Yama. Opening the document, it said: 'The Master's jewel of precepts is pure and lofty. Having abandoned the heretical three-stage doctrine of Chan Master Xinxing and taken refuge in the Lotus Sūtra, expounding and lecturing on it, you serve as an oarsman across the sea of suffering. We pray you will grant your compassionate pity.' I was thereupon invited by King Yama to expound the Lotus Sūtra for seven days. Countless sinners planted causes and conditions for the Buddha Path. The king was overjoyed, and presented thirty bolts of yellow silk to me as an offering. When the lectures ended, the king asked: 'Do you wish to see your deceased spiritual friends?' I replied that I wished to see two persons. The king immediately sent for one of them, but I saw only a turtle come and lick the soles of my feet, shed tears from its eyes, and depart. Regarding the other person, [the king] said: 'His sins are grave and he cannot be summoned; you must go to him to see him.' The envoy led me to the prison gate. The gate was bolted fast. The envoy called to the guard, and someone answered the Master: 'Step aside at once and do not stand facing the gate!' No sooner had I moved aside than the gate opened, and a great fire surged out of the gate like sparks bursting from forged iron; it immediately struck my feet. As I brushed it away and raised my eyes to look at the gate, it had already shut. Unable to meet him, I departed. I returned to the king's place and recounted the matter from beginning to end. The king said: 'Hell is like this; without the power of the Lotus Sūtra, one cannot be delivered. If one wishes to save them, one must lecture on and recite the Saddharma.' Such were the events; I have simply related what I saw, heard, and realized." Those among the assembly who heard it felt grief and joy. (Taken from the Mingzhiji. However, although the Mingbaoji records this event, it does not mention expounding the Lotus Sūtra; one should know that what was heard by the authors differed.)