往生集 2.249

2.249

唐惟恭。住法性寺。慢上凌下。親狎非類。酒徒博侶。交集於門。暇則念佛。寺僧靈巋者。同惡相濟。里人為之語曰。靈巋造惡。惟恭繼跡。地獄千重。莫厭雙入。恭聞曰。我雖積業罪無所迯。然賴淨土教主。憫我愆尤。拔我塗炭。豈復墮惡道耶。乾寧二年病革。巋自外還見伶人數輩。少年麗服問所從來。答曰。西來迎恭上人耳。一人懷中出金瓶。瓶中蓮花其合如拳俄頃增長。如盤盂。光彩交映。望寺疾馳而忽不見。巋至寺聞鍾聲。恭已逝矣。

Weigong of the Tang dynasty lived at Faxing Monastery. He was haughty to superiors and domineering toward inferiors, associating intimately with disreputable types. Wine-drinkers and gamblers gathered at his door. In his leisure, he practiced buddhamanasikāra. Another monk of the monastery, Lingkui, aided and abetted his misdeeds. The villagers had a saying for them: / 'Lingkui commits evil, / Weigong follows in his footsteps; / In hell's thousand levels, / May they not tire of entering together.' / Gong heard this and said, 'Though my accumulated karma has no escape, I rely on the Lord of the Pure Land's Teachings to pity my faults and pluck me from the mire and ashes. How could I fall into the evil destinies again?' In the second year of the Qianning era, he fell critically ill. Kui returned from outside and saw several actors, young and in magnificent clothes. When asked where they were coming from, they replied, 'We have come from the west to welcome Master Gong.' One of them produced a golden flask from his robe, and inside the flask was a lotus flower closed like a fist. In an instant it expanded to the size of a platter, its radiant colors shining brightly. They hurried toward the monastery and suddenly vanished. When Kui reached the monastery, he heard the bell toll; Gong had already passed away.