法華傳記 8.8

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.)