法華傳記 6.32

6.32

In the third year of Zhenguan, Yu Lintong resolved his mind to chant the Lotus Sūtra. However, troubled by secular duties, he was largely unable to fulfill his original aspiration, and consequently fell ill and died. Suddenly, six underworld officials surrounded him front and back and brought him to the gate of a great city. To the side he saw a monk who announced himself, saying, "I am Bhaiṣajyarāja. Your vow to chant the sūtra was not fulfilled according to your wish before you suddenly died. You may chant a single verse." He taught him the text, saying, "'I constantly think to myself: / How can I cause sentient beings / to enter the unsurpassed way / and quickly accomplish the Buddha body?'" The Bodhisattva bestowed the verse upon him and said, "If you chant this verse, you can turn hell into a lotus pond and transform vessels of suffering into the bodies of the Buddha realm. Strive hard and do not forget it." Lintong fully mastered and recited it. He then entered the city and met the king. The king asked, "Does this man possess merit?" They answered, "He has practiced no other good, but has only chanted a single verse." The king said, "How does that verse go?" Wherever the sound of Lintong's chanting reached, those suffering were all liberated, and the eighteen hells transformed into lotus ponds. The king said, "Stop, stop! There is no need to chant any further. Return swiftly to the human realm." After two days, he revived and recounted these causes and conditions. This is what I, Xiang, personally saw and heard.