法華傳記 8

English (machine translation) 8

Language: English

1. Monk Xuanxu
2. Shi Huidao
3. Shi Tanyun
4. Linghu Yuangui
5. Jiang Yangong
6. Li Yilong
7. Zi Yaodai
8. Li Qiuling
9. Nun Chenxing
10. Yang Yangong
11. The Unbelieving Man
12. The Traveling Monk under the Sui
13. The Monk of Gushan
14. The Scholar-Official of Qi
15. Shi Xiude
16. The Royal Official of Qi
17. Together with a Faithful Woman
18. Shi Huitiao

8.3

1. Monk Xuanxu of Xiangzhou under the Sui

8.4

Monk Xuanxu had a particular veneration for the Lotus Sūtra. He had a monastic friend sharing his room, Shi Daoming, whose lay surname was Yuan, a man from the same affinity group. From youth he was noble-minded and had many extraordinary traits; the renown of his austere discipline, dhyāna practice, and recitation was heard far and wide. In the third month of the first year of the Daye era, he passed away at his home monastery. In the seventh month of that year, Xuanxu, traveling through the countryside, suddenly encountered a saṃghārāma at sunset and went there to lodge. Reaching the gate, he saw Daoming just emerging from the monastery, his appearance and speech no different from when he was alive. He then led Xu to his room. Xu privately wondered at this, but dared not ask. Later in the night, Ming arose and said to Xu: “This is no ordinary place. Venerable sir, be careful not to go up to the hall.” At the time of the dawn bell, he came again and told Xu that he was not permitted to go up to the hall, yet his physical form was suddenly emaciated and withered, and his complexion drastically altered. After Ming left, secretly Xu went to the rear window of the refectory to observe what took place. The homage to the Buddha and the offering of incense were all according to monastic rules. Many of those who had passed away with haughty pride were seated in rows. When the karmadāna chanted that the gruel was served, people were seen carrying the gruel in; all the gruel brought in was the color of blood. When the food had been served throughout, all the monks were seen bursting into flames all over their bodies, writhing and fainting, collapsing to the ground for the duration of a meal. When the karmadāna struck the mallet to invite the monks, at once there was no longer any sign of suffering. Terrified, Xu returned to his lodging room. Shortly after, Ming arrived, even more haggard. Xu questioned him, and Ming said: “This is hell; the suffering is beyond words.” Xu asked again: “What offense brought you here?” Ming said: “Because in the past I took a bundle of firewood belonging to the Saṃgha to boil dye for my robes and forgot to compensate for it, I must undergo this punishment of burning my feet for one year.” Ming then lifted his robes with his hand: from the navel down to his knees, he was entirely charred black. Weeping, he said: “Venerable sir, in your compassion, I pray you will rescue and deliver me.” Surprised and lamenting, Xu said to Ming: “Even someone as refined as you is like this; how much worse will it be for the likes of us? I wonder, by what means might you be spared?” Ming said: “Buy a hundred bundles of firewood, multiplying it many times over, to provide a bathhouse for the Saṃgha, and copy one set of the Lotus Sūtra.” Xu said: “I shall exhaust all that I possess to accomplish this for you within a single day. May you quickly leave this suffering!” They then parted. Xu returned immediately to his monastery, fulfilled his promise accordingly, and having also copied the sūtra, went back to seek him, but all was desolate and nothing was to be seen. That night, he dreamed that Ming, with dignified and orderly deportment, came and said to Xu: “Relying on your great kindness, I have left suffering and been reborn in the Pure Land.”

8.5

2. Shi Huidao of Waguan Monastery under the Song

8.6

Shi Huidao was a man of Yuzhou, the younger maternal brother of Huiguo. He did not cultivate religious practice, but was adept at commerce. Put in charge of the community's granary and kitchen, he privately consumed the provisions, and being in charge of the Saṃgha’s silk, he used expedients to embezzle and steal it. Later he contracted an illness and died, with his chest remaining warm. After three days he revived, saying: “I was driven by underworld officials down a distant, dark road. On the road I met a śramaṇa who said to Dao: ‘You did not believe your brother's words, and used the Saṃgha’s property at your own pleasure. If the King interrogates you about your sins and merits, how will you answer him?’ Dao did not know what to answer. The śramaṇa said: ‘You should say: “In the past, I made a vow to produce eight sets of the Lotus Sūtra.”’ Having imparted these words, he suddenly disappeared. When Dao arrived before King Yama, the King asked: ‘What merit have you cultivated?’ He answered: ‘I have a vow to produce eight sets of the Lotus Sūtra, but because of managing monastic affairs, I have not yet fulfilled my vow.’ The King smiled faintly and said: ‘Although you did not make this vow in the past, now that you say you have a vow, you must make that vow. Stealing and using the property of the Saṃgha is a grave sin. One who produces eight sets of the Lotus Sūtra will surely escape the eight hells. On the basis of this single statement, I release you back to the human realm; you must return to the human realm and cultivate it in accordance with truth.’ Then an official was dispatched to show me the way back, and I was revived.” He gave up all his robes and almsbowl to produce eight sets of the Lotus Sūtra. Those sūtras are still extant. (New Record).

8.7

3. Tanyun of Dingzhou

8.8

The monk Tanyun was a native of Dingzhou. Later he lived in Xizhou at seventy years of age. During the upheavals at the end of the Sui, he secluded himself at Mount Bigan in Lishi. He constantly recited the Lotus Sūtra. He wished to copy this sūtra, but there was no one of like mind, and thus years accumulated. Suddenly a scholar arrived out of nowhere, saying that whatever was required to copy the sūtra purely and cleanly, he could perform it all. Thereupon, early in the morning, having finished eating, [the scholar] bathed, put on clean clothes, received the eight precepts, and entered the clean chamber. Holding sandalwood incense in his mouth, burning incense, and hanging banners, he transcribed silently until dusk before coming out. The next day was just as before, and he never spoke of weariness. When the copying of the sūtra was completed, [Tanyun] presented him with offerings according to the Dharma and saw him out the gate, where in an instant he was seen no more. Even the mounting and paper-dyeing were entirely in accord with the true Dharma. Yun upheld, read, and recited it. It was wrapped and tied in seven layers, and at each layer he washed his hands once in scented water, never letting this lapse for even a moment. He dreamed that Samantabhadra appeared before him and told Yun: "Excellent! Copying the Lotus [Sūtra] in accord with the Dharma, in this very body you will be able to leave behind the twenty-five sufferings." Later he encountered barbarian bandits, so he placed the sūtra in a box and set it upon a high crag. A year passed, and when the bandits were quieted, he searched for it but could not find it. Wandering anxiously and searching everywhere, he found it beneath the crags. The box and the cloth wrapping were decayed and rotten, but looking at the sūtra, it was as fresh and fine as of old. Those who saw it considered it miraculous. (The Fayuan [zhulin] states: Vinaya Master Daoxuan of Ximing Monastery in the capital personally witnessed this and spoke of it when he visited that prefecture in the eleventh year of Zhenguan.)

8.9

Linghu Yuangui of Longzhou, 4

8.10

In the fifth year of Zhenguan, there was Linghu Yuangui, the magistrate of Baxi County in Longzhou, who faithfully revered the Buddha-Dharma and wished to copy the Lotus [Sūtra], the Diamond Prajñā, the Nirvāṇa, and other sūtras. Having no way to supervise it himself, he relied on Dhyāna Master Shangkang of that place to oversee it. Kang had it copied for him in the monastery cleanly and in accord with the Dharma. When it was finished, he wrapped it in a wrapper and returned to the estate in Qizhou, leaving the sūtras at the estate together in one place with Laozi's five thousand characters. Suddenly an external fire spread and burned [it]; the hall was thatched with grass, and in an instant it was swept to ashes. At that time, Gui was serving as the magistrate of Fengyi County. The family members instructed one another to stir the ashes and retrieve the gold and bronze sūtra rollers. Having brushed aside the outer ashes, the various sūtras inside were completely intact as before, the dyed colour unchanged, only the box and wrapper having turned to charcoal. When they looked for the Laozi, it had been reduced to ashes by the fire. They then gathered the sūtras, and the villagers sighed in wonder. Only the title characters of one roll of the Diamond Prajñā were scorched black. When they inquired into the reason, [they learned that] when the sūtra was first titled, there was an official of the prefecture who was skilled in calligraphy; that man ate unclean food and was in a hurry, not observing cleanliness, and simply wrote the title standing up and left. Because of this, it was burned. That man is still alive, and the auspicious sūtras are also preserved in the capital. Shencha, the abbot of Ximing Monastery, personally verified this and spoke of it. (The above account is from the Sanbao gantong ji.)

8.11

Yan Gong of Jiangzhou, 5

8.12

During the Kaihuang era of the Sui, Yan Gong was a man of Jiangzhou. He built a vihāra below the outer city wall to copy the Lotus Sūtra and make pure offerings. Whether paper or brushes, they had to be [handled] with a pure mind without deceit. If given with faith, he did not refuse; whatever was obtained through seeking, he immediately used to produce sūtras in accord with the Dharma, providing for the scholars with joy. There were constantly ten clerics and laypeople sending funds; Gong personally inspected and supervised, never speaking of fatigue from his labours. Once someone borrowed ten thousand coins of sūtra money from him, and Gong had no choice but to give it to him. The borrower, having received the money, loaded it onto a boat, which capsized midway; the money was lost, but the man survived. On that day, Gong entered the treasury and saw ten thousand coins wet as if from water, which he thought strange. Later, when he saw the man who had borrowed the money, he only then knew of the drowning. There was also a merchant who went to Lake Guanting to sacrifice to the spirit and offer goods. At night he dreamed that the spirit said: "Please take these goods and deliver them to Yan Gong for the use of the Lotus Sūtra." When he awoke, the offered goods were before him. Once, when Gong went to the market to buy paper and was short of money, a person suddenly held out two thousand coins and handed them to Gong, saying: "To assist you in buying paper." Having spoken, he was seen no more. There was also a fisherman who at night saw flames upon the river. Floating along with the flames, he went out in a boat to meet it; it was indeed a sūtra chest. At dawn, when he inspected it, he saw it was the Yan family's sūtra chest. Thereafter, [Gong] made a vow, which said in brief: "May not a single character fail to pass before my eyes; may not a single character fail to engage my mind." By the end of the Daye era, his sons and grandsons still handed down the business of sūtras. The bandits of the commandery mutually agreed not to enter their neighbourhood. The villagers relied upon them to this day, and their past occupation remains just as it was. (Neidian lu, fascicle 10.)

8.13

Li Yilong of Bingzhou, 6

8.14

Li Yilong was a native of Bingzhou. His family had handed down the profession of calligraphy for generations, mastering its subtleties. Long's father was named Wulong. He was partial to the Daoist scriptures of this land and did not believe in Buddhist scriptures. By nature he was addicted to wine and meat, and he slandered Buddhist scriptures, saying: "The barbarian sage proscribed wine and meat; how could he possess compassion?" Throughout his entire life, he never wrote out a Buddhist scripture. Even if someone offered him the wealth of gold and jade, he would not look at the scriptures at all, much less copy them himself. Eventually he went mad and said to Yilong: "If you are my son, you must not believe in Buddhist scriptures. If you believe and violate this, your calamities and misfortunes will not be few." Thereupon he spat blood and died. Later, the marshal of Bingzhou aroused a steadfast resolve, giving special reverence to the Lotus [Sūtra]. He wished to copy this sūtra in accord with the Dharma, but there was no one skilled in calligraphy. Someone of like mind said to the marshal: "Wulong's son, Yilong, has inherited the profession and is skilled in calligraphy. His family holds wrong views and does not copy Buddhist scriptures, but your authority can subdue his erroneous mind, making him capable of undertaking the copying." The marshal tried to subdue him with skillful means, but he still would not comply, persistently declining on the grounds of his family tradition. [The marshal] then hired other scholars to produce a complete set. Whether paper or brushes, they had to be [handled] with a pure mind; he personally contributed precious treasures to produce them in accord with the Dharma, wishing to make pure offerings. He thought again: "Since I am the master of the prefecture, how could Long be unwilling to accept my word?" He coerced him with threats of punishment and redeemed him with gold and jade. Long then set down the title, regretting and blaming his father's dying injunction. Unawares, night fell, and one day and one night passed. On the next night, he dreamed that hundreds of thousands of devas surrounded a deva of great majesty and virtue, who stood in the courtyard before Long. When he asked who this deva was, the answer came: "I am your father, Wulong. In my previous life, out of foolish stubbornness, I did not believe in Buddhist scriptures and fell into the great hells. Blazing fires bound my body, and for one day and one night I suffered ten thousand deaths and ten thousand rebirths. Seeking death, I could not obtain it; seeking life, I could not obtain it. Five hundred sharp ploughs tore at the flesh of my tongue, beyond all description. Yesterday, above the hells, there suddenly appeared a radiant light, in which an emanation Buddha appeared and spoke a verse, saying:

8.15

"Even if, throughout the entire dharmadhātu,
All the sentient beings who have severed wholesome roots
Once hear the Lotus Sūtra,
They will unfailingly achieve bodhi."

8.16

"In this way, sixty-four Buddhas appeared in succession, speaking the verse likewise. At that time, the fires of the hells were extinguished and transformed into cool pools. Sentient beings and I cast off our bodies and were born into the fourth heaven. By the nature of the heavens, upon first [arriving], three things are immediately known: the sixty-four characters of the title you wrote each manifested the body of an emanation Buddha, speaking verses to rescue us from suffering. You and I share the same flesh and blood; relying on the wholesome condition of my single [son], the sinful persons of the hells heard the verses, were freed from suffering, and were born together in one place. Those now surrounding me are they. You must abandon the former evil and copy Buddhist scriptures as your family's profession." After [explaining] these causes and conditions, he vanished and was seen no more. Long awoke from the dream, shed tears, repented his faults, and fully reported it to the marshal. Those who heard it rejoiced, all remarking that if merely writing the title unintentionally was still like this, how much more so if one copies it oneself or teaches others to copy it—the merit obtained by such a person would be limitless! The Long family's profession of calligraphy has been handed down to this day. Within the prefecture, those who make obeisance and offerings at each character and copy it daily, or those who chant praises at each line and transcribe it daily, are exceedingly numerous. (And so on; New Record.)

8.17

Yao Dai of Zizhou under the Tang, 7

8.18

Yao Dai was a native of Qi County in Zi Prefecture. In the summer of the fourth year of the Chang'an reign era (704, a jiachen year), he made a vow to copy four major scriptural works himself for his deceased parents: one copy each of the Lotus Sūtra and the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa, ten fascicles of the Bhaiṣajyaguru-sūtra, and one hundred fascicles of the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra. Having finished copying the other sūtras, when he had copied fourteen fascicles of the Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, at midday a deer suddenly burst through the door, came in, and stood before the scriptural couch. After raising its head and licking the writing table, it lay down under the couch. There were five or six dogs in the household; seeing the deer, they wagged their tails and did not dare to bark. Yao Dai stepped down from the couch and hugged it, and it was not frightened either. He conferred the three refuges upon it; it skipped, bent its legs, and when released, it would not leave. By the Xiantian reign era (712–713), all the scriptures were completed, wrapped in wrappers, and about to be placed into cases. There was a butcher named Li Huihao who, for unknown reasons, suddenly came, stood before the table, pointed at the scriptures and smiled, then stood with palms joined, wishing to take the scriptures. This butcher was mute and deaf, both of his eyes were completely red, and he was addicted to alcohol and ferocious; yet he had this slight virtue. The scriptures Yao had copied were all mounted on rollers decorated with strings of jewels, while only the Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra was adorned with plain sandalwood. Li took only the plain-rollered one, which showed that this man had a karmic connection with the Prajñāpāramitā. Dai then wrapped it in white paper and placed it in a lacquered case. The butcher laid the knife he was holding across the scriptural case, smiled, and ran off. After he left, he was never seen again, and no one knew where he had gone. A neighbor dreamed that the deer was Dai's mother and the butcher was Dai's father. After their lives ended, each had taken birth according to karma; because their son had made a vow to copy Mahāyāna scriptures himself for his two parents, their retribution was already determined, so they could not harm him all at once, but rather came to receive conversion and then departed. In the fourth year of the Kaiyuan reign era (716), there was a Daoist master named Zhu Fayin of the Xuanzong Abbey who was extremely well-versed in Zhuangzi and Laozi. He had gone to Mei Prefecture to lecture and returned only after a long time. At that time, more than twenty scholars from the township went to him to pay respects and make inquiries. His friend Wang Chao, an official of the prefecture, ordered a boy servant to slaughter a sheep, put the meat in a sack, and boil it until cooked. Though Dai knew in his heart it had been slaughtered, he endured it; his craving could not be severed, so he ate along with the others, consuming by his reckoning no more than four or five pieces of meat. After a day had passed, at sunset, he suddenly developed a high fever and a headache, and his joints felt as if they were being sliced and hacked. By dusk, his illness grew even more critical. His ears heard a voice outside the gate calling Yao Dai's name. Although his mind did not wish to go out, looking at himself, he unknowingly found his body already outside, asking what the matter was. An emissary in yellow robes, appearing as if holding a knife, said, "The prefect calls you," and having spoken, walked on. Outside Dai's gate there was a stream, but when he went, he saw no stream bank at all, only a flat, wide avenue lined on both sides with trees. Walking about three or four li, he saw a great walled city; the city was the city of Zi Prefecture. The city had covered walkways and multi-storied towers, with white walls and vermilion pillars, also exceedingly splendid. When he further asked the emissary, "Is this not the city of Zi Prefecture?" the emissary made no reply. The city had five gates; on both sides of each gate there were gate-chambers, gate facing gate. Each gate had an inscription board above, resembling seal script, but he could not read the characters. Though the gates were numerous, none had guards, and there was also no one in the streets and alleys. The emissary entered through the five gates, where there was a great hall with high and towering halls and corridors; the hall and its doors also had no one guarding them. Reaching behind the screen-window, he peeked inside the hall and saw a person dressed in purple, somewhat plump, with a dignified and beautiful countenance. At this point, the emissary entered and reported that he had brought Yao Dai. Dai hurried in and bowed from afar. With glaring eyes and a stern voice, [the purple-robed one said,] "Why were you summoned rashly? You entered to kill a person and ate them in a pure place." Dai thought and knew nothing of such an affair, seeing only his anger, with flames shooting from his eyes and mouth. Terrified and bewildered, he did not know what was being referred to. He immediately explained himself, saying, "Recently I have only upheld the scriptures; I have never killed anyone, nor have I eaten human flesh." The emissary asked what scriptures he upheld. He replied, "I uphold the Lotus, the Vimalakīrti, the Bhaiṣajyaguru, and the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā scriptures." When the person in purple heard Yao Dai speak thus, he smiled amiably, and voices were heard exclaiming, "Excellent!" Suddenly there was someone at his side wearing yellow robes whose feet could not be seen, holding an object in his hand about two feet long with eight ridges, resembling a drum mallet. In a loud voice he called out, "Why did you eat meat in the Daoist Master Zhu's room?" Dai dared not conceal it any longer and confessed the truth that he had eaten it. "How much did you eat?" He reported that he had eaten five or six pieces. The person in purple asked the yellow-robed person, who reported, "He ate four ounces and eight zhu." He then took a brush and wrote on the mallet. From afar, [a voice] was heard in his ears: "The matter was not his original intent; let him go for now. When Wang Chao arrives, interrogate him." The person in purple also said, "The Buddha hall of Dayun Monastery must be repaired quickly and completed." Dai assented. Walking out about five or six paces, at the west end of the hall there was a person wearing a cangue and manacles, secured with four iron nails. He asked, "Yao Dai?" The person in the hall had called him Yao Gongcao and did not speak Dai's personal name. Looking at the one wearing the cangue, it was none other than the butcher Li Huihao. The person in purple asked, "Is it true or false that this man recited and copied the scriptures?" Dai replied, "It is true." Having answered, he looked back and saw only an empty cangue on the ground, and the butcher was gone. When Dai first entered, he saw no one guarding before the hall or at the gates; but when he came out, on both sides of the hall there were several thousand people, dressed in vermilion, purple, yellow, and green, standing according to their ranks. There were also many women carrying cangues and chains, some with hands bound behind their backs, and some with halters on their heads. Amidst the crowd, he saw his father-in-law Zhang Kai, who was also among them. Though he wore a small cangue, it had no iron nails. He kowtowed and asked Dai to leave word for his family to copy scriptures, and that they must not speak much. Dai wished to go forward further, but was restrained by someone and not allowed. Among them was a person, his waist exposed and bare, who told Dai, "Leave quickly! This is not a place for talking." Looking back at him, it was Zhang Xian, a villager near Dai's estate, who had been bedridden with illness for successive years, unable to swallow food or drink; everyone who saw him considered it a sure sign of death, and his wife, children, and kin had already prepared the funeral paraphernalia. After Yao Dai awoke, he informed Zhang's son to copy the Lotus and other scriptures for him; in less than half a decade, his illness was cured. Having been released outside the screen wall, at every gate there were people with dropped knives, staves, bows, and lances, solemnly lined up in readiness. Those guarding the gates would not let Dai out. His birth mother again came running from the east of the hall, shouting, "My son is cleared and released; why are the deer pens not opening?" She told Dai to extend his arm and show it. He then unfolded his sleeve, put out his arm, and showed it to them, whereupon he was able to leave. By the time he awoke, a full day had already passed.

8.19

8. Li Qiuling of Gaoyou County, Yangzhou

8.20

Li Qiuling was the younger half-brother (by a different mother) of Li Qiuyi, the assistant magistrate of Gaoyou County in Yangzhou. The household members one after another released hawks and hounds to kill living beings, gathering relatives together for merrymaking, without feeling any shame. His elder brother Qiuyi repeatedly admonished him by speaking of the underworld, but in his heart he did not believe or accept it. On the nineteenth day of the first month in the second year of the Chang'an reign era (702), he suddenly fell gravely ill and died. Above his heart it remained slightly warm. Previously, on account of his wife's illness, Qiuling had made a vow to copy one set of the Lotus Sūtra, but had not yet fulfilled his intention; his wife had also made this vow to copy the sūtra to save her husband from his severe illness. Seven days after Qiuling died, he finally revived and recounted the events of the underworld in detail, saying: "When I first died, six rākṣasas came and said, 'We are emissaries of the Great King Yama. Because your evil has accumulated, you are summoned and cannot be permitted to stay even temporarily.' They immediately put a cangue and chains on me and drove me forward. After more than ten li, there was a man riding a horse in vermilion robes, holding a bow and arrows in his hands. Seeing me, he shouted angrily, 'Qiuling is a great evildoer! Why is he not placed on the fire-cart?' Before he had finished speaking, I was suddenly on a fire-cart. At that time, there was a śramaṇa who sprinkled water onto the cart; my body became cool, and the suffering ceased, though I did not know who had saved me. Traveling more than five hundred li further, I saw a great city towering high. Within it was a hall; the King sat upon a jeweled throne. In front, behind, to the left, and to the right were several thousand people each, in vermilion, purple, yellow, and green, seated in order according to rank. In the courtyard outside were countless sinners, bound and tied with manacles, cangues, chains, hands tied behind their backs, hands tied before their faces, and so forth, assorted together in various ways, all crouching toward the King. When the King saw me enter, he glared and asked, 'You unrighteously killed living beings, ate illicitly, and have no share of merit. Did you not enter the jewel mountain only to return empty-handed?' At that time I was silently ashamed and had no reply. The King sent an emissary to fetch a scroll of records, about fifty-odd sheets. He opened it and said, 'Do you hear? Every sin you committed in life is recorded one by one.' He then brought out the sins I had committed and rebuked me for each one; there was nowhere to escape. When the scroll was nearly finished, the King smiled slightly and said, 'You have great merit: for your wife, you wished to copy the Lotus Sūtra, though your heart's wish was not yet fulfilled; your wife also made a vow for you. All your previous sins are pardoned, and you shall be returned to the human world.' The officials beneath the hall, dressed in vermilion, yellow, and green, said to the King, 'An evil person is difficult to pardon; why release him back?' The King said, 'This person has a vow to copy the sūtra. If he is in hell and recalls past deeds, chanting his vow, the hells will become empty and desolate and the sinners will be born in heaven. Therefore, he is released back.' At that time, the countless sinners in the courtyard, hearing this discourse, abandoned their bodies and were born in heaven. I personally received the King's gracious pardon and was revived because of the vow to copy the sūtra." Thereupon, he exhausted all his possessions to produce one hundred sets of the sūtra, handwrote the vow himself, and left an account of these circumstances behind.

8.21

9. The Nun of Cultivated Practice in Hedong, Tang

8.22

In Hedong there was a nun of cultivated practice who constantly recited the Lotus Sūtra. She sought out a skilled scribe, paid him several times the normal wage, and specially prepared a pure chamber for him to copy this sūtra. Each time he arose, he bathed and perfumed his robes with burning incense. Furthermore, in the room for copying the sūtra, she had a hole chiseled through the wall leading outside and fitted it with a bamboo tube; whenever the scribe wished to exhale, he was to hold the bamboo tube in his mouth and breathe outside the wall. It took eight years to copy the seven fascicles. When it was finished, her offerings were earnest and weighty, exhausting her reverent respect. The monk Faduan of Longmen often gathered a large assembly to lecture on the Lotus Sūtra. Because this nun's manuscript was so meticulously prepared, he sent someone to request it. The nun firmly declined and would not give it. Faduan rebuked her. Having no choice, the nun brought and delivered it in person to Faduan and the others. When they opened it to read, they saw only yellow paper, with no characters whatsoever. Opening the remaining fascicles, all were likewise. Faduan and the others, feeling ashamed and fearful, immediately sent it back to the nun. Weeping with sorrow, the nun received it, washed the case with scented water, bathed herself, and placed the scripture atop her head. She circumambulated the Buddha in practice of the Way for seven days without resting for a moment. When she then opened and viewed it, the characters were just as before. When someone later inquired after the nun's name, some said her name was Lianmiao, and that she later changed her name to Ganmiao. (Fayuan [zhulin], fascicle 27, states that this comes from the Mingbao ji, where the nun is named Faxin.)

8.23

10. Yan Gong of Yangzhou

8.24

Yan Gong of Yangzhou was originally a native of Quanzhou. His family was rich in wealth, and he had no brothers. His parents loved Gong and never went against his words. At the beginning of the Dajian era of the Chen dynasty, when Gong had just reached the age of capping (twenty years old), he made a request to his parents, desiring to take fifty thousand cash to go to the market in Yangzhou. His parents consented. Gong boarded a boat laden with the cash and went downriver. Several tens of li before reaching Yangzhou, he encountered a boat on the river loaded with turtles, about to be taken to the market to be sold. Gong inquired, learned the reason, and, reflecting that the turtles were facing death, consequently asked to redeem them. The turtle owner said, 'My turtles are large; only for one thousand cash apiece can they be had.' Gong asked how many there were. He replied that there were fifty. Gong said, 'I have exactly fifty thousand cash; I wish to redeem them.' The turtle owner happily took the money, handed over the turtles, and departed. Gong released all the turtles into the river, and proceeded to Yangzhou with an empty boat. After parting from Gong and traveling ten-odd li, the turtle owner's boat sank, and he died. At that time, Gong's parents were at home. At dusk, fifty guests dressed in black came to their gate seeking lodging, and brought fifty thousand cash, handing it to Gong's father and saying, 'Your son is in Yangzhou and sent this money home. Please accept it according to the amount.' Gong's father was astonished and bewildered, suspecting that Gong had died, and therefore questioned them closely. The guests said, 'Your son is well and unharmed; it is merely that he had no need to spend the money, so he sent it home.' Gong's father accepted it, noted that it was the original money, but all soaked with water. He kept the guests and prepared food for them. The guests stayed until the next morning and then took their leave. After a month or more, Gong returned home. His parents were overjoyed. Soon after, they asked about the circumstances of sending the money. Gong answered that there was no such thing. His parents described the appearance of the guests, the date the money was sent, and it was the day the turtles were redeemed. Thereupon they knew that the fifty guests were all the turtles he had redeemed. Father and son were amazed and moved to sighs. Consequently, he established a vihāra in Yangzhou dedicated exclusively to copying the Lotus Sūtra. Thereupon, his family moved to Yangzhou, and their household grew even wealthier. He extensively erected halls and corridors to serve as rooms for copying the sūtra. They were adorned and pure, with abundant supplies. There were constantly several tens of scribes. Both monastics and laity in Yangzhou revered him together, calling the place the Yan Lotus Neighborhood. Once, an acquaintance borrowed ten thousand sūtra-funds from him. Gong, unable to refuse, gave it to him. The borrower took the cash and returned home by boat. Mid-route, the boat capsized. The ten thousand soaked coins were as if newly brought forth from the water. Gong was very puzzled by this. Later, upon seeing the previously borrowed cash brought back, he realized that the wet cash was precisely what had been lent. Furthermore, a merchant came to Lake Gongting to make offerings at the shrine of a deity, requiring meat and superior goods. That night, he dreamed that the deity sent the goods back to him, saying to him, 'I am in debt to you; please take these on my behalf to present to the Lotus [Sūtra] to supply the copying expenses.' Moreover, all the goods he had offered to the deity were before him. Thereupon the merchant, amazed at the marvel, delivered them to Gong's place and doubled his lavish donations. Later, Gong went to the market to buy sūtra paper, but happened to encounter a shortfall of cash. Suddenly, he saw a person holding three thousand cash, who handed them to Gong, saying, 'To assist you in buying paper.' Having spoken, he disappeared, and the cash was right in front of him. Thus, strange marvels such as these were not just one. At the end of the Kaihuang era of the Sui dynasty, Gong died. A neighbor dreamed that Gong had died and was born in a pure heaven. In the dream, he asked what pure heaven it was. The answer was the Inner Court of Tuṣita, because it is free of defilement. After Gong died, his orphaned son continued his enterprise. When bandits arrived at Jiangdu in the late Sui period, they all agreed among themselves not to enter the Yan Lotus Neighborhood. The people of the neighborhood relied upon this and preserved their place intact. Down to the present, the copying of the sūtra has not ceased. It has been witnessed by the entire prefecture and city. People in the capital say that many know of it as well. The Imperial Son-in-law, Prince Xiao of the Zong, was the one who examined it in the greatest detail. (The chronicler says: 'The matter of Yan Gong of Jiangzhou is broadly the same as that of Yan Gong of Yangzhou. The former account comes from the Gantong lu and others, while this account comes from the Mingbao ji and others. Depending on whether they are expansive or abridged, they differ, appearing before and after. Please examine the beginning and end thoroughly to know them all.')

8.25

Eleven: The Unbelieving Man of Yu County, Manzhou

8.26

In Yu County of Manzhou, there was a man whose surname and given name are lost. He exclusively served the spirits and gods, and did not believe in the Buddha-Dharma. If he saw Buddha statues and monks, he washed his eyes; if he heard the expounding of the Dharma and the sound of sūtra chanting, he washed his ears. Even when good friends tried to guide and convert him, he still refused to accept it. Once, on private business, he went to the monk Daoru of Renshou Monastery. Standing outside the gate, he said, 'I have private use for it, and wish to borrow three thousand copper coins.' Ru said, 'The money is in the monastery storehouse; I do not begrudge it. However, at the request of a dānapati, I am producing the Lotus Sūtra. I have reached the end of the first line of the "Expedient Means" chapter, and have not yet written a single character. The water for the inkstone has dried up. After you prepare the water for me, I shall rise.' The man reflected, 'I originally do not wish to see the Three Jewels. Now, having no alternative, I have come to this place. If I fetch the inkstone water, will that not be inauspicious? If I do not fetch it, I will surely violate our agreement.' After a long while, he fetched the water, gave it to him, and departed. After Ru wrote the line, he looked for the man, but could no longer see where he was. The man had run off and cast himself into a river, unwittingly falling senseless into a secluded spot. After a long while, he arose, wept, repented his faults, went to the monastery, and said to Ru, 'When I fell senseless, I entered the gates of death. Two men came and drove me toward King Yama's palace. When the king first saw me, he grew enraged and said, "You have adorned yourself with wrong views; your retribution is in Avīci!" At that time, a marvelous light suddenly appeared in the sky, shining upon the crown of my head. The king examined the beginning and the end, and knew that it was for the single character at the end of the first line of the "Expedient Means" chapter of the Lotus [Sūtra] that I had fetched water and enabled it to be written; therefore, the character manifested the body of a Buddha to come and assist me. He asked whose light this was. It answered, "I am the character of the 'Expedient Means' chapter. Each and every character of the Lotus [Sūtra] is a Buddha. This man has taken refuge in me, so I have come to rescue him." At that time, the king rejoiced and said, "How wonderful! The character of the Lotus [Sūtra] transforms its body and radiates great light, rescuing even an unbeliever; how much more so a person of faithful mind!" Thereupon he showed me the road back, and I was able to return to life.' He then left household life, renounced his home, copied sixteen sets of the sūtra, made pilgrimages to famous mountains, and where he ended his days is unknown.

8.27

Twelve: The Traveling Monk in the Daye Era of the Sui Dynasty

8.28

In the Daye era of the Sui dynasty, there was a traveling monk who walked until he reached the Mount Tai Temple and asked for lodging. The temple prefect said, 'Here there is no other building; only under the verandas of the spirit shrine can one lodge. However, those who have recently lodged here have invariably died.' The monk said, 'There is no harm.' The prefect had no choice but to comply, and arranged a bed for him under the veranda. When night fell, the monk sat upright and chanted sūtras until about the first watch. He heard the sound of pendant gems inside the hall. In an instant, the deity came out and bowed to the monk. The monk said, 'I hear that many who lodge here die; could it be that the dānapati harms them? I hope you will protect me.' The deity said, 'Those who encountered their death were already near the end of their lives. Hearing my disciples' sounds, they became terrified and died of themselves; it was not that I killed them. May the master have no worry.' The monk then sat near him and talked for the duration of a meal. After a long while, the monk asked, 'People in the world recount that there are living ghosts of Mount Tai; is that really so?' The deity said, 'I, who have little merit, have them. Could it be that you wish to see your deceased companions?' The monk said, 'I have two fellow-student monks who died earlier; I wish to see them.' The deity asked, 'What are their names?' The monk fully stated their names. The deity said, 'One has already been reborn among humans. The other, possessing heavy offenses, is in hell and cannot be summoned; I can only take the master along to see him.' The monk was very pleased. Thereupon they arose together and walked out of the gate. Before long, they arrived at a place where many shrine-prisons were seen, with blazing fires and exceedingly fierce flames. The deity took the monk into a courtyard. From afar, he saw a person amidst the flames, crying out and unable to speak, his form mutated beyond recognition, his flesh and blood scorched and putrid, breaking one's heart. The deity said, 'This is he. Does the master wish to view further?' The monk, saddened and pitying him, asked to leave. Presently they returned to the temple, and he sat with the deity again, asking, 'If I wish to rescue my fellow student, is there a way?' The deity said, 'It can be done. If you can copy the Lotus Sūtra for him, he will be freed.' Soon it was approaching dawn; the deity bade farewell to the monk and entered the hall. At dawn, the temple prefect saw that the monk had not died, and marveled at it. The monk then explained it to him, and forthwith copied one copy of the Lotus Sūtra for his companion. When the sūtra was completed and adorned, he took the sūtra again to the temple to lodge. That night, the deity came out as before, bowed with joy, and inquired about the purpose of his coming. The monk told him of the matter. The deity said, 'I know of it. When the master was copying the sūtra, as soon as you wrote the title, he was already delivered and freed; now he has been reborn, and is no longer in hell. However, this place is not pure and clean; the sūtra must not be placed here. May the master take the sūtra back and send it to a monastery.' Having spoken for a long time, as it was approaching dawn, he bade farewell and departed. The monk took the sūtra and sent it to a monastery. (Also appears in Fayuan zhulin, fascicle 18.)

8.29

Thirteen: The Monks of the Gushan and Xihe Bodhimaṇḍas in Jiangzhou

8.30

In Jiangzhou there is Gushan. In Xihe, hall buildings were erected and many trees and groves were planted, richly obtaining the scenic beauty of a mountain dwelling. During the Yonghui era, there were two monks who lived in the same room. One was named Sengxing, who practiced the Buddha-Dharma of the Three Stages. One was named Sengfa, who practiced the Lotus Samādhi. The two made an agreement: whichever died first must report the place of rebirth, just like Asaṅga and Vasubandhu of old. Later, Sengxing died first. Although [Sengfa] yearned for him for three years, there was no report revealing the place of rebirth. In the hall, there was a statue of Avalokiteśvara; if one fasted and prayed with a vow, there was sure to be a sympathetic resonance. Sengfa fasted for five days, staying in the hall without stepping outside the door. On the fifth night, he dreamed that a śramaṇa said to Fa, 'Take hold of the corner of my robe, and I will lead you to see Sengxing's place of rebirth.' He then took hold of the corner of the robe, and in an instant arrived in hell. The fierce flames were blazing intensely, so that one could not approach. Seven tiers of iron nets covered it from above, and iron gates on four sides were sealed very securely. Hundreds of thousands of śramaṇas who had broken the pure precepts and failed to regulate body and mind were suffering torment inside. The śramaṇa said to the guarding rākṣasas, 'Is the śramaṇa Sengxing here?' They answered, 'He is.' He further said, 'I wish to see him.' They answered, 'He cannot be seen.' The śramaṇa told the rākṣasas, 'His former fellow-practitioner has come out of yearning. We are disciples of the Buddha; why do you adamantly begrudge it?' They replied, 'If you wish to see him, you may see him as you please.' Thereupon a rākṣasa impaled a piece of black charcoal on a spear point, showed it to him, and said, 'This is Sengxing.' Sengfa saw the black charcoal and wept tears. 'As a śramaṇa and a disciple of the Śākya, how could he suffer such heavy torment? I wish to see his former appearance.' At that moment, the rākṣasa shouted, 'Live!' and he appeared exactly as in life, but his body was burned and decayed. He said to Fa, 'Formerly, I was haughty and transgressed at will. Will you save me from my torment?' Fa said, 'How can I save you?' He answered, 'By producing the Lotus Sūtra for me.' Fa said, 'How can it be produced?' He answered, 'Within a single day, you can complete the task.' Fa said, 'How could this poor monk complete it in a single day?' He answered, 'My torment is unbearable; even an instant is hard to endure. Without vigorous and acute practice in a single day, how could the torment cease?' At that time, the rākṣasa rebuked him in anger, impaled him on the spear point, and cast him into hell. Fa followed the former śramaṇa out and woke from the dream. On that very day, he gave away his robes, bowl, and possessions, and hired forty scribes to copy it in a single day, making offerings and prostrations. That night, he dreamed again that the former śramaṇa came and told him, 'Sengxing has long since left the torments of hell and was recently born in the second heaven.' This was personally recorded and witnessed by Sheng himself.

8.31

Fourteen: The Scholar-Official of the Northern Qi

8.32

Under the Northern Qi, there was an official surnamed Liang who was very wealthy. When he was about to die, he said to his wife and children: "Throughout my life, I have loved my male slave and my horse; I have used them and ridden them for a long time, and they have pleased my heart. When I die, they may be sacrificed with me to accompany me in burial. Otherwise, I will have nothing to employ or ride." When he died, his family filled a sack with earth and suffocated the slave to death with it, but the horse was not yet killed. Four days after the slave died, he revived and recounted: "At that time, I was unconscious. Leaving, I suddenly came to the gates of an official hall. The gatekeeper detained me at the gate, where I stayed for one night. The next morning, I saw my deceased master in shackles, guarded by heavily armed soldiers, about to enter the official's hall. Seeing me, he said: 'For a time I thought that after dying one could still employ male and female slaves, so in my last words I summoned you. Now each of us suffers his own retribution, completely unconnected to the other. Now I will address the official to release you.' Having spoken, he entered. I peeked from behind a screen and saw the official ask the guards: 'How much fat was pressed from him yesterday?' They replied: 'Eight sheng was obtained.' The official said: 'Take him away again and press one hu and six sheng.' The master was immediately dragged out, completely unable to speak. The next morning he came again with a joyful expression, and said to the slave: 'Today I will speak on your behalf.' He then entered, and the official asked about the fat. They answered: 'None was obtained.' The official asked why. The presiding officer said: 'This man has been dead for three days; his family has invited monks and offered a vegetarian feast for him. Each time the sound of sūtra chanting is heard, the iron beams immediately break, so none could be obtained.' The official said: 'Take him away for now.' The presiding officer then reported to the official, requesting the release of the slave. The official immediately summoned the slave and released him, and both went out of the gate. The master sent a message through him to his wife and children, saying: 'Relying on your dedication of merit, I have been spared great suffering, yet I am not yet liberated. If you can further copy the Lotus Sūtra and make images to rescue me, I hope thereby to be spared. From now on, do not offer sacrifices to me, for doing so only increases my offenses.' Having spoken, they parted, and the slave then came back to life and recounted everything in detail. The family completed a gathering with a feast on that very day, and thereupon undertook the dedication of merit, with the entire household cultivating practice."

8.33

15. Shi Xiude of Dingzhou

8.34

Chan Master Shi Xiude of Zhongshan in Dingzhou under the Tang was of unknown lineage. Bitter austerities became his nature, and he kept to the Way in mountain forests. Relying on the Avataṃsaka and the Awakening of Faith, he settled his mind, bound his karmic practice, investigated his thoughts, and cultivated Chan. In the fourth year of the Yonghui reign era, he took refuge with sincerity in the Vaipulya teachings. Thereupon, conceiving the great aspiration, he copied them with utmost devotion. He specifically planted various trees in a pure courtyard over a period of three years, along with flowers and medicinal plants, and irrigated them with fragrant water to cleanly manufacture paper. Later, he separately constructed a pure terrace and erected a building on it. He summoned Wang Gong, a skilled calligrapher of the counterfeit prefecture. In a separate courtyard, Wang observed the fast, bathed, put on clean clothes, and burned incense; he scattered flowers, hung banners and canopies, and bowed to the sūtra with repentance before ascending the seat. As he lowered his brush, he held fragrant substances; as he lifted his brush, he exhaled away; every day he was constantly diligent and unremitting like this. The Chan master personally entered the pure chamber to direct his contemplation; between burning incense and handling the brushwork, he focused his mind entirely on his own cultivation in this way, from start to finish. For each fascicle copied, he gave ten bolts of fine silk, and when the entire sūtra was completed, he had given over six hundred rolls in total. Gong, inspired by this, would not accept any of it. Straining his sincerity and exhausting his thoughts, his physical strength was utterly spent; barely had the copying of the sūtra finished when he suddenly passed away. Xiude, because the sūtra was accomplished, held a vegetarian feast to celebrate and assemble the great assembly. Sharing a pure and aspiring mind, they bowed and had audience with the Chan master, who then, before the assembly, burned incense, scattered flowers, and made great vows. Barely had he opened the sūtra case when it emitted a great brilliance that extended for over seventy li, illuminating the city of Dingzhou. The gentlemen and women in the city all saw it together. When the assembly at the Zhongshan feast beheld this rare marvel, experiencing what they had never had before, they threw themselves down, weeping, wailing, and repenting. The Chan master also carved in stone one copy each of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra and the Lotus Sūtra. When they were first moved into the niche, both the stone Nirvāṇa and Lotus Sūtras emitted brilliance, filling more than ten li. The entire assembly beheld it, their moved awakening boundless. Since there was such sympathetic resonance, what doubt could there be of its benefits?

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法華傳記 — Classical Chinese