往生集 1.88

1.88

Zhiqin of the Tang dynasty focused his practice on Chan activities, and also prostrated to and recited the names of the fifteen thousand buddhas up to a hundred times. Later, before the King Aśoka Stūpa in Liuzhou, he burned one arm to seek rebirth in the Pure Land. At midnight, his disciple Senghu saw an extraordinary light illuminating the courtyard. He therefore asked, “Who is holding a torch?” He asked a total of three times, and a voice in the sky said, “We have come to welcome Chan Master Qin.” Hu hurriedly opened the window and saw the radiance of the Buddha’s body, with banners, flowers, and jeweled canopies filling the sky. Qin followed the Buddha, floating gently away.