法華傳記 5.48

5.48

Gao Shoujie of Bingzhou under the Sui came from a family that had believed and revered [the Dharma] for generations, and Shoujie was especially meticulous and devoted. When he was sixteen or seventeen years old, he once traveled through the commanderies. On the road he met a novice monk, about fifty or sixty years of age, who called himself Haiyun. Conversing with him, [Haiyun] asked, "Son, can you chant the scriptures?" He replied, "I understand my original mind." Yun then took him to Mount Wutai. Reaching a place, they saw three thatched huts, just barely enough to contain their bodies, and they stayed therein. [Haiyun] taught him to chant the Lotus Sūtra; while chanting, he went outside to beg for alms to supply him with food and clothing. Jie frequently saw a foreign monk come to converse and laugh with the master, returning at the end of the day. Later, Yun asked him, "Do you recognize that foreign monk from before?" He replied, "I do not." Yun earnestly, as if joking, said, "That is the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī." Although Jie repeatedly received this notification, he did not realize its significance. Later, [Haiyun] sent Jie down the mountain to a village to fetch goods, warning him, "Women are the root of evil; they ruin the path of bodhi and shatter the city of nirvāṇa. When you go into the human world, you should be exceedingly cautious." Jie respectfully agreed, received the instruction, and went down the mountain. Halfway along the road, he saw a woman of fourteen years, her clothes fresh and gorgeous, her appearance graceful and beautiful. Riding a white horse, she came straight toward him, kowtowing to Jie and saying, "My body has an urgent distress; I desperately need to dismount. The horse I ride likes to leap, and I cannot control it. I hope you will take pity and save this humble life!" Jie then remembered his master's words and never looked back. The woman pursued him for several li, her pleas urgent and earnest, but Jie held his resolve as before. In a short while, she vanished. Having returned to his former place, he related the incident in full. The master said, "You are truly a great man! Even so, that was the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī." Jie still did not realize it, still thinking it was a joke. However, he chanted the scripture there for three years in all, and became exceedingly refined and pure in the entire Lotus Sūtra. Later, hearing that ordinations were being granted in Chang'an, his heart aspired to be tonsured. [The master said,] "If you must go, you should take leave of your good teacher properly. Once parted, it will be hard to fathom when we shall meet again. In the capital, you may rely on Chan Master Wolun at the Dhyāna Training Ground." Jie went to the capital seeking ordination, but did not attain his wish. He then went to Master Lun's place. Lun said, "Where do you come from?" He replied, "I come from Mount Wutai. My master sent me to be your disciple." Lun asked, "What is your master's name?" He replied, "His name is Haiyun." Lun was greatly astonished and sighed, "Mount Wutai is where Mañjuśrī dwells. The monk Haiyun is none other than the third great spiritual friend of the youth Sudhana in the Avataṃsaka-sūtra! Why did you abandon this sage? In a thousand kalpas or ten thousand kalpas, there is no way to encounter him again. How mistaken you are!" Jie only then realized what had transpired. Regretting that he could not crush his own body, he took blame upon himself; yet his foolish mind still longed for him, hoping to see him once more. He thereupon took leave of Lun and retraced his steps, galloping day and night. When he reached the former place, there was nothing to be seen.