法華傳記 7.46

7.46

竺曇遂不知何許人。少遊放蕩。不修戒行。而矜傲自恃。長於姦冗。或一言致犯。便積年懷恚。同寺少長。莫不致其嗔憾也。當一夕夢。婦人來語。君應作青溪廟神。後遇疾。將終謂同學曰。我平生多忤。少於質直。更以福德淺薄。當受鬼神之身為青溪廟主。諸君有緣可垂訪也。及死果聞廟所有新神。諸道人往至廟中。與相酬對。音響言笑猶若平生。乃請僧轉法華經。有慧覲沙門。舊恒讀誦。因為作數契。每訖吟沈。亦輒唱菩薩。而悲不自勝。皆為之流涕。因言今受惡身。非當醜穢。艱辛劇苦。何可復言。弟子舊房戶限下。有錢五千。可為追福。庶離斯苦。於是而別。僧眾同學。為造法華經三部。設齋懺悔。廟遂寂無神迹。知依書經力。離苦生淨處矣。

Zhu Tanxiu's origin was unknown. In his youth he wandered dissolutely, did not cultivate monastic discipline, and was arrogant and self-reliant, skilled in deceit and excess. If a single word gave offense, he would harbor resentment for years. Among those young and old in the same monastery, there was none who did not incur his anger and hatred. One night he dreamed that a woman came and said to him, "You should become the deity of the Qingxi Shrine." Later he fell ill. As he was about to die, he said to his fellow students, "Throughout my life I was contrary and rarely straightforward. Moreover, because my blessings and virtues are shallow, I will receive the body of a ghost or spirit to be the master of the Qingxi Shrine. If you gentlemen have karmic affinity, please pay a visit." When he died, it was indeed heard that there was a new deity at the shrine. The monks went to the shrine and conversed with him; his voice, speech, and laughter were just as in life. Thereupon they requested monks to recite the Lotus Sūtra. There was a śramaṇa named Huijin who had long read and recited it regularly; for his sake he recited several chapters. Whenever he finished and sang in deep tones, he would also call out "Bodhisattva!" and, overcome with sorrow, shed tears for him. [The deity] said, "Now I have received an evil body; it is extraordinarily ugly and foul, with hardships and severe suffering beyond words. Under the threshold of my old room, there are five thousand coins; you may perform meritorious deeds for me with them in the hope that I may leave this suffering." Thereupon they parted. His fellow monks produced three copies of the Lotus Sūtra for him and held a vegetarian feast for repentance. Thereupon the shrine fell silent without any spirit traces. It was known that by relying on the power of copying the sūtra, he had escaped suffering and been born in a pure place.