淨土往生傳 3.14

3.14

Shi Weigong—it is not known where he was from. He left the household at Faxing Monastery in Jingzhou. He was haughty toward superiors and bullying toward inferiors, associating familiarly with unvirtuous kinds. At times of brief leisure, he would chant sūtra texts, aspiring to ascend to Anyang. However, drunkards and gamblers congregated at his door; deceitful words and deeds never ceased for a single day. In the same monastery was a monk named Lingkui, whose conduct was rather similar. The people of Jing playfully mocked them, saying: 'Lingkui exhausts all evil karma; Weigong follows in his footsteps. Though hell has thousands and myriads of levels, do not begrudge entering in line!' When Gong heard this, he said: 'Since I have already made them, how can I avoid them? Yet relying on the Lord of the Pure Land Teachings, who pities my transgressions and evils and pulls me out of misery, how could there be a hell for me to enter?' In the second year of Qianning of the Tang, Gong was sick and about to die, though people did not yet know it. At that time Kui stepped about a hundred paces out of the monastery, and met on the road six or seven youths, their attire fresh and clean, holding musical instruments in their hands like a Kucha orchestra. Kui suspected they were his peers going to play music for the Buddha at his monastery. He asked where they came from; the youths said: 'We come from the west.' They also said: 'Our coming has someone to await.' They further asked: 'Where is Master Weigong's monastery?' Kui pointed to the monastery, saying: 'This is his monastery, and this is his room.' Hearing this, the youths were exceedingly joyful, and from within their robes brought out a golden vase, and from the vase took out a lotus flower. It was closed like a fist, and gradually opened, becoming as large as a basin. From beneath each petal extraordinary light burst forth in succession, the brilliant colors gleaming against each other like a cluster of several lamps. Looking toward the monastery, they hastened toward it, and before reaching the monastery they suddenly vanished. Kui was greatly astonished, dared not look back, and did not express it in words. The next day, when he reached the monastery gate, he suddenly heard the sound of the bell, and saw the monastery's monks all assembled beneath the gate. Asking the reason, they said: 'Weigong died last night.' Someone said: 'When Gong died, a monk of the monastery dreamt that the radiant form of a lotus flower approached his room, and after a long time departed to the west.' Kui then fully recounted what he had seen, and those who heard it increased their faith. Some people of the neighborhood used this matter to encourage Kui; Kui, moved to realization, thereupon maintained moral integrity and attained lofty excellence.