法華傳記 7.46

7.46

Zhu Tanxiu's origin was unknown. In his youth he wandered dissolutely, did not cultivate monastic discipline, and was arrogant and self-reliant, skilled in deceit and excess. If a single word gave offense, he would harbor resentment for years. Among those young and old in the same monastery, there was none who did not incur his anger and hatred. One night he dreamed that a woman came and said to him, "You should become the deity of the Qingxi Shrine." Later he fell ill. As he was about to die, he said to his fellow students, "Throughout my life I was contrary and rarely straightforward. Moreover, because my blessings and virtues are shallow, I will receive the body of a ghost or spirit to be the master of the Qingxi Shrine. If you gentlemen have karmic affinity, please pay a visit." When he died, it was indeed heard that there was a new deity at the shrine. The monks went to the shrine and conversed with him; his voice, speech, and laughter were just as in life. Thereupon they requested monks to recite the Lotus Sūtra. There was a śramaṇa named Huijin who had long read and recited it regularly; for his sake he recited several chapters. Whenever he finished and sang in deep tones, he would also call out "Bodhisattva!" and, overcome with sorrow, shed tears for him. [The deity] said, "Now I have received an evil body; it is extraordinarily ugly and foul, with hardships and severe suffering beyond words. Under the threshold of my old room, there are five thousand coins; you may perform meritorious deeds for me with them in the hope that I may leave this suffering." Thereupon they parted. His fellow monks produced three copies of the Lotus Sūtra for him and held a vegetarian feast for repentance. Thereupon the shrine fell silent without any spirit traces. It was known that by relying on the power of copying the sūtra, he had escaped suffering and been born in a pure place.