法華傳記 6.48

6.48

釋思約樹果二人。少小出家。住京勝業寺。以垂拱三年。俱為內庫直歲。忽於五月夜中。被冥官投。將見王。王問。汝等生時作何業行。約答曰。誦得法華經三四卷。王合掌敬之云。且放還。遣人將觀受苦之處。行向西南到一大門。北院見一行長舍。以板為牆。東西相當作孔。如枷孔無異孔。孔之中皆有僧頭常見。同寺僧大諒身猶見在。頭出孔中即見約果。啼哭驚喚不可具之。其大諒甞撿挍。修葺殿中三大像。私用像物故被追攝。每孔邊皆有獄卒。形狀可畏。執刀刎之。血汗狼藉。獄卒安頭唱活。還即頭出孔中。如是不久。乃經三十度。次西行。又見殺生食肉受罪之處。無數眾僧被割截。聲叫難堪。被害所食眾生。咸來索命。分噉食血。又見同寺寺主僧智感都維那阿六被縛極急。勘當食肉用僧物罪。約果忽被推。著深黑坑中。俄而甦活。遍體流汗。心魂無主。後不盈月日。諒即身死感暴亡。極受辛苦。阿六發心懺悔。不出房中。讀一切經。晝夜懃慇。數見冥司使。二黃衣人。騎白馬來取到阿六門內。一人云。大大發心。日夜不捨。讀一切經故當可放。凡三四度來。於是阿六並親見懃悔不已。遂得無他（又出自鏡錄）。

The two monks Siyue and Shuguo became renunciants in their youth and resided at Shengye Monastery in the capital. In the third year of the Chuigong era, both served as seasonal overseers of the Inner Treasury. Suddenly, in the midst of a night in the fifth month, they were arrested by netherworld officials and brought to face the King. The King asked, "What deeds did you practice during your lifetime?" Yue replied, "I managed to recite three or four fascicles of the Lotus Sūtra." The King joined his palms in respect toward him and said, "Release him for the time being. Send someone to escort them to inspect the places of suffering." Going southwest, they arrived at a large gate. In the northern courtyard they saw a long row of sheds with planks for walls, in which holes were made opposite each other on the east and west, no different from the holes of wooden pillories. In each of the holes, the head of a monk was constantly visible. The monk Daliang of their own monastery was still alive in the human world, yet his head stuck out from a hole; upon seeing Yue and Guo, he wept and cried out in alarm beyond description. This Daliang had once supervised the renovation of three great statues in the main hall and had privately used items belonging to the statues, and for that reason he was summoned and apprehended. Beside each hole stood a hell-warden of terrifying appearance, who held a blade and severed the head, leaving blood and gore scattered about. The warden then set the head back and chanted "Live!", whereupon the head again emerged from the hole. In this manner, before long, he underwent it thirty times. Next walking west, they saw another place where punishments were suffered for taking life and eating meat. Innumerable monks were being sliced and dismembered, their cries unbearable. The sentient beings that had been harmed and eaten all came to demand their lives, dividing and devouring their flesh and drinking their blood. They also saw the abbot of their own monastery, the monk Zhigan, and the rector Aliu bound exceedingly tight, being interrogated for their crimes of eating meat and misappropriating monastic property. Suddenly, Yue and Guo were shoved and fell into a deep, dark pit. Shortly thereafter they revived, their entire bodies soaked in sweat, their minds and spirits completely disoriented. Within less than a month, Liang died, and Gan perished abruptly, suffering extreme torment. Aliu resolved his mind to repent; he did not step outside his room, reading the entire canon day and night with diligent devotion. Several times he saw emissaries of the netherworld administration—two men in yellow garments—riding white horses come to fetch him, reaching inside Aliu's gate. One of them said, "He has greatly aroused his resolve, not abandoning it day or night, and reads the entire canon, so he ought to be released." Altogether they came three or four times. Thereupon Aliu personally witnessed this and repented untiringly without ceasing, thereby avoiding harm. (This also appears in the Jinglu).