法華傳記 4.16

4.16

Śramaṇa Puming, whose secular surname was Zhang, was a native of Linzi. He left household life at an early age. His nature was pure and simple. Eating vegetarian food and wearing hempen robes, he took repentance and recitation as his practice, reciting the two sūtras, the Lotus Sūtra and the Vimalakīrti. Whenever it was time for chanting and recitation, he had separate clothes and a separate seat, and was never sullied by any impurity. Whenever he came to the 'Encouragement [of Samantabhadra]' chapter, he would invariably see Samantabhadra riding an elephant and standing before him. When reciting the Vimalakīrti-sūtra, he also heard heavenly music sounding in the air. Moreover, he was skilled in divine dhāraṇīs; whomever he sought to save was healed. Wang Daozhen, a fellow countryman, had an ailing wife and invited Ming to come and chant spells. As Ming entered the gate, the woman fell unconscious. Shortly after, a creature resembling a wildcat, several feet in length, was seen coming out from a dog hole. She was healed because of this. Once, Ming was passing by a riverside shrine; the spirit mediums and shamans said among themselves that when the spirits saw him, they all fled in disarray. He died at the age of eighty-five.