法華傳記 8.22

8.22

河東有練行尼。常誦法華經。訪工書者一人。數倍酬直。特為淨室。令寫此經。一起一浴。燃香薰衣。仍於寫經之室。鑿壁通外。加一竹筒。令寫經人每欲出息。輒含竹筒吐氣壁外。寫七卷八年。及畢。供養殷重盡其恭敬。龍門僧法端。常集大眾。講法華經。以此尼經本。精定遣人請之。尼固辭不與法端。責讓之。尼不得已。乃自送付法端等。開讀唯見黃紙。了無文字。更開餘卷。皆悉如此。法端等慚懼即送還尼。尼悲泣受以香水洗函。沐浴頂戴。遶佛行道。於七日不暫休息。既而開視。文字如故。後尋尼字。有人尼字練妙。後復改名感妙（法苑第二十七云。出冥報記尼法信）。

In Hedong there was a nun of cultivated practice who constantly recited the Lotus Sūtra. She sought out a skilled scribe, paid him several times the normal wage, and specially prepared a pure chamber for him to copy this sūtra. Each time he arose, he bathed and perfumed his robes with burning incense. Furthermore, in the room for copying the sūtra, she had a hole chiseled through the wall leading outside and fitted it with a bamboo tube; whenever the scribe wished to exhale, he was to hold the bamboo tube in his mouth and breathe outside the wall. It took eight years to copy the seven fascicles. When it was finished, her offerings were earnest and weighty, exhausting her reverent respect. The monk Faduan of Longmen often gathered a large assembly to lecture on the Lotus Sūtra. Because this nun's manuscript was so meticulously prepared, he sent someone to request it. The nun firmly declined and would not give it. Faduan rebuked her. Having no choice, the nun brought and delivered it in person to Faduan and the others. When they opened it to read, they saw only yellow paper, with no characters whatsoever. Opening the remaining fascicles, all were likewise. Faduan and the others, feeling ashamed and fearful, immediately sent it back to the nun. Weeping with sorrow, the nun received it, washed the case with scented water, bathed herself, and placed the scripture atop her head. She circumambulated the Buddha in practice of the Way for seven days without resting for a moment. When she then opened and viewed it, the characters were just as before. When someone later inquired after the nun's name, some said her name was Lianmiao, and that she later changed her name to Ganmiao. (Fayuan [zhulin], fascicle 27, states that this comes from the Mingbao ji, where the nun is named Faxin.)