往生集 2.283

2.283

大明顧源。金陵人。自號寶幢居士。幼能詩善草書。中年一志淨業。後微疾。集僧俗道友。十念阿彌陀佛。唱和相續。語人云。我決定往生矣。人問何故。曰我見阿彌陀佛。身滿虛空。世界金色。佛以袈裟覆我。我身已坐蓮花中。時一眾聞蓮花香。諸子悲戀不已。居士曰。汝謂我往何處。何處即此處。此處若明何處不了。乃屏人曰。毋多言亂我心。空中諸佛迎我。三鼓行矣。至期怡然含咲而逝。少宗伯殷秋溟先生。為之傳云。

Under the Great Ming, Gu Yuan was a native of Jinling who styled himself Layman Ba幢 (Precious Banner). In his youth, he was skilled in poetry and cursive calligraphy. In middle age, he unified his intention in pure karma. Later, falling slightly ill, he gathered monastic and lay spiritual friends to recite the name of Amitābha Buddha ten times, chanting in succession. He said to the people: 'I will definitely attain rebirth!' When asked why, he said: 'I see Amitābha Buddha, his body filling empty space, the world golden in color. The Buddha covers me with his kaṣāya, and my body is already seated in a lotus blossom.' At that time, the assembly smelled the fragrance of a lotus blossom. His sons wept and clung to him ceaselessly. The layman said: 'Where do you think I am going? That place is this very place. If this place is clear, what place is not understood?' He then dismissed everyone, saying: 'Do not speak much to disrupt my mind. The buddhas in the sky are welcoming me; at the third drum, I shall go.' When the time came, he smiled happily and departed. Vice Minister of Rites Master Yin Qiuming composed a biography for him.