法華傳記 3.16

3.16

Shi Huiming was of unknown origin, and his secular surname is also lost. His demeanor was serene, and he was intelligent and learned, intuitively understanding the Buddha Vehicle and taking it as his refuge. When lecturing on the Lotus Sūtra, he made independent judgements with innate natural insight, expounding and explaining it continuously. Once, he entered deep mountains and sat in a stone chamber to expound the sūtra. Several troops of macaques had arrived before to listen to the Dharma, and strange birds, elephants, and tigers lay before the stone chamber, listening to the Dharma and eating fruit for three months. Later, at night, a light appeared above the stone chamber, gradually drawing near to the cave. This was a deva, who said: "I was the old, blind macaque in the troop. Through hearing you lecture, at death I was reborn in Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. My original corpse lies over seventy paces southeast of the chamber. In heaven I enjoy bliss without interruption; but remembering the Master's kindness, I came to listen to the lectures, descending to this stone step. Because I delight in hearing, I have come to listen to the Saddharma being expounded." Ming said: "How shall I expound it?" The deva said: "I must return to heaven in haste; please divide the single text into eight parts to lecture." Ming said: "The scripture I hold has seven fascicles, which I would divide into seven sessions; why must there be eight lectures?" The deva said: "The Lotus was expounded over eight years. To lecture for eight years would be too long, but I would delight in opening eight sessions to model the eight years of preaching, which roughly accords with the Buddha's intention." Convinced, Ming divided the seven-fascicle sūtra into eight scrolls and opened eight sessions of lectures for the deva. When finished, overjoyed, the deva offered eight genuine pearls to Huiming and spoke a verse, saying: