法華傳記 8.4

8.4

僧玄緒。偏重法華。有同房師友。釋道明。姓元同緣人也。少而高尚多奇。苦節禪誦之譽。有聞遐邇。以大業元年三月。於本寺而卒。其年七月。玄緒因行至郊野。日暮忽遇伽監。便往投宿至門首。乃見道明從寺方出。儀容言語不異平生。遂引緒至房。緒私心怪之而不敢問。至後夜明遂起謂緒。此非常處。上人慎勿上堂。至曉鐘時。復來語緒。不許上堂。而形體頓銷衰。顏色殊改。明去後秘緒遂往食堂後窓邊。觀覘其事。禮佛行香。皆如僧法。昔貢高逝者多列座。而在維那唱。施粥已即見。有人舁粥將來。將來粥皆作血色。行食遍並見。諸僧舉身火然宛轉悶絕。躄地如一食之間。維那打靜請僧。一時無復苦相。緒駭懼還所止房。少時明至。轉更憔悴。緒問之。明曰。此是地獄苦不可言。緒復問曰。何辜至此。明曰。為往時取僧一束柴。煮染衣忘不陪償。當此一年然足受罪。明乃以手褰衣。臍膝已下。並皆焦黑。因泣涕而言曰。上人慈悲願見救度。緒驚歎謂明曰。公精練之人。猶尚如此。況吾輩當復何如。不審。何方可得相免。明曰。買柴百束倍增為僧溫室。并寫法華經一部。緒曰。吾當自竭所有。一日之內。為君辦之。願公早離此苦。因遂分別。緒即還寺。依言為酬。并寫經重更往尋。寂無所見。其夜夢明威儀庠序。來謂緒。依公大恩。離苦生淨土矣。

Monk Xuanxu had a particular veneration for the Lotus Sūtra. He had a monastic friend sharing his room, Shi Daoming, whose lay surname was Yuan, a man from the same affinity group. From youth he was noble-minded and had many extraordinary traits; the renown of his austere discipline, dhyāna practice, and recitation was heard far and wide. In the third month of the first year of the Daye era, he passed away at his home monastery. In the seventh month of that year, Xuanxu, traveling through the countryside, suddenly encountered a saṃghārāma at sunset and went there to lodge. Reaching the gate, he saw Daoming just emerging from the monastery, his appearance and speech no different from when he was alive. He then led Xu to his room. Xu privately wondered at this, but dared not ask. Later in the night, Ming arose and said to Xu: “This is no ordinary place. Venerable sir, be careful not to go up to the hall.” At the time of the dawn bell, he came again and told Xu that he was not permitted to go up to the hall, yet his physical form was suddenly emaciated and withered, and his complexion drastically altered. After Ming left, secretly Xu went to the rear window of the refectory to observe what took place. The homage to the Buddha and the offering of incense were all according to monastic rules. Many of those who had passed away with haughty pride were seated in rows. When the karmadāna chanted that the gruel was served, people were seen carrying the gruel in; all the gruel brought in was the color of blood. When the food had been served throughout, all the monks were seen bursting into flames all over their bodies, writhing and fainting, collapsing to the ground for the duration of a meal. When the karmadāna struck the mallet to invite the monks, at once there was no longer any sign of suffering. Terrified, Xu returned to his lodging room. Shortly after, Ming arrived, even more haggard. Xu questioned him, and Ming said: “This is hell; the suffering is beyond words.” Xu asked again: “What offense brought you here?” Ming said: “Because in the past I took a bundle of firewood belonging to the Saṃgha to boil dye for my robes and forgot to compensate for it, I must undergo this punishment of burning my feet for one year.” Ming then lifted his robes with his hand: from the navel down to his knees, he was entirely charred black. Weeping, he said: “Venerable sir, in your compassion, I pray you will rescue and deliver me.” Surprised and lamenting, Xu said to Ming: “Even someone as refined as you is like this; how much worse will it be for the likes of us? I wonder, by what means might you be spared?” Ming said: “Buy a hundred bundles of firewood, multiplying it many times over, to provide a bathhouse for the Saṃgha, and copy one set of the Lotus Sūtra.” Xu said: “I shall exhaust all that I possess to accomplish this for you within a single day. May you quickly leave this suffering!” They then parted. Xu returned immediately to his monastery, fulfilled his promise accordingly, and having also copied the sūtra, went back to seek him, but all was desolate and nothing was to be seen. That night, he dreamed that Ming, with dignified and orderly deportment, came and said to Xu: “Relying on your great kindness, I have left suffering and been reborn in the Pure Land.”