法華傳記 7.22

7.22

于闐國有僧伽藍。名瞿摩帝。是大乘寺。三千僧居。揵搥而食。時有一驅使沙彌。年十六。亦有尼乾子。善占相。見此沙彌云。汝年十六。餘命只一年。雖捨衣鉢。不可延壽。沙彌悲愁。上座哀愍之。為後世善。教法華經。沙彌根鈍。不識文字。上座一部之中最。方便壽量二品授之。沙彌專心轉讀。尼乾子後見沙彌。生希有心。問汝修何功德。答吾纔讀經一兩品。尼乾歎曰。大乘之力不可思議。轉十七歲壽。成七十年。乃出家投寺。讀摩訶衍經（出西國傳）。

In the kingdom of Khotan, there was a saṅghārāma named Gomati. It was a Mahāyāna monastery where three thousand monks resided, who took their meals at the striking of the gaṇḍī. At that time, there was an attendant novice sixteen years of age. There was also a Nirgrantha skilled in physiognomy and divination. Seeing this novice, he said, "You are sixteen years old, and your remaining life is only one year. Even if you give up your robes and bowl, you cannot prolong your life." The novice was grieved and sorrowful. The sthavira took pity on him, and for the sake of his future wholesome roots, taught him the Lotus Sūtra. The novice had dull faculties and could not recognize written words; the sthavira imparted to him the two chapters that are foremost in the whole work, Upāyakauśalya and Āyuhpramāṇa. The novice focused his mind on revolving and reciting them. Later, the Nirgrantha saw the novice and, giving rise to wonder, asked, "What merit have you cultivated?" He replied, "I have merely recited one or two chapters of a sūtra." The Nirgrantha praised him, saying, "The power of the Great Vehicle is inconceivable! It has transformed a life of seventeen years into seventy years." He thereupon left home, entered the monastery, and recited Mahāyāna sūtras (from the Xiguo zhuan).