冥報記 2.12

2.12

隴西李大安。工部尚書大亮之兄也。武德年中。大亮為越州總管。大安自從京往省之。大亮遣奴婢數人從兄歸。至穀州鹿橋。宿於逆旅。其奴有謀殺大安者。候其睡熟。以小劍刺大安項。洞之。刃著于床。奴因不拔而巡。大安驚覺。呼奴。其不叛奴婢至欲拔刃。大安曰。拔刃便死。可先取紙筆作書。奴仍告主人訴縣。大安作書畢。縣官亦至。困為拔刃。洗瘡加藥。大安遂絕。忽如夢者。見一物。長尺餘。濶厚四五寸。形似猪肉。去地二尺許。從戶入來至床前。其中有語曰。急還我肉。大安曰。我不食猪肉。何緣負汝。即聞戶外有言曰錯非也。此物即還。從戶出去。大安仍見庭前有池水。清淺可愛。池西岸上。有金佛像。可高五寸。須臾漸大。而化為僧。被緣袈裟甚新淨。謂大安曰。被傷耶。我今為汝將痛去。汝當平復。還家。念佛修善也。因以手摩大安項瘡而去。大安誌某形狀。見僧背有紅繪補袈裟。可方寸許。甚分明。既而大安覺遂蘇。而瘡亦不復痛。能起坐食。十數日。京室子弟。迎至還家。家人故來視。大安為說被傷由狀。及見僧像事。有一婦在旁聞說。因言。大安自之家初行也。安妻使婢詣像工為安造佛像。像成以淥書書衣。有一點朱。汗背上。當遣像工去之。不肯。今仍在。形狀如郎君所說。大安因與專及家人共起觀像。乃所見者也。其背朱點宛然補處。於是歎異。遂崇信佛法。大安妻夏候氏即郎。州刺史絢之妹。先為臨說。後大安兄子適裕為大理卿。亦說云爾。

Li Da'an of Longxi was the elder brother of Li Daliang, Minister of the Ministry of Works. During the Wude reign, Daliang served as area commander of Yuezhou. Da'an traveled from the capital to visit him. Daliang sent several male and female servants to accompany his elder brother on his return. When they reached Luchao in Guzhou, they lodged in an inn. Among the servants was one who plotted to murder Da'an. Waiting until he was fast asleep, he stabbed Da'an's neck with a short sword, piercing through it so that the blade stuck into the bed. Thereupon, without drawing it out, the servant fled. Da'an awoke with a start and called for his servants. Those who had not rebelled came and wished to pull out the blade. Da'an said, "If you pull out the blade, I will die immediately. First take paper and brush to write a letter." The servants also informed the innkeeper and reported to the county office. Just as Da'an finished writing the letter, the county officials also arrived. They then drew out the blade for him, washed the wound, and applied medicine. Da'an then lost consciousness. Suddenly, as if in a dream, he saw an object over a foot long and four or five inches wide and thick, shaped like a piece of pork, floating about two feet above the ground. It came through the door to the front of his bed. From within it, a voice said, "Quickly return my meat!" Da'an said, "I do not eat pork; on what grounds do I owe you?" Immediately he heard a voice outside the door saying, "It is a mistake; this is not the one." The object then turned back and went out through the door. Da'an then saw a pool of water in front of the courtyard, clear, shallow, and lovely. On the west bank of the pool stood a golden Buddha image, about five inches high. In a short while it grew gradually larger and transformed into a monk wearing a green-bordered kāṣāya, extremely fresh and clean, who said to Da'an, "Were you wounded? I shall now take away your pain. You shall fully recover; when you return home, be mindful of the Buddha and cultivate good deeds." He then stroked the wound on Da'an's neck with his hand and departed. Da'an took note of his appearance and saw that on the back of the monk's kāṣāya was a patch of red silk, about a square inch in size, very distinct. Soon after, Da'an awoke and revived, and the wound was no longer painful; he was able to sit up and eat. After a dozen days, young kinsmen from the capital arrived to escort him home. His family members all came to see him, and Da'an explained the circumstances of his being wounded and the incident of seeing the monk image. A woman standing by heard his account and said, "When Da'an first departed from home, his wife sent a maidservant to an image-maker to have a Buddha image made for him. When the image was finished, in drawing the robe with green pigment, a spot of cinnabar dripped onto its back. When they asked the artisan to remove it, he refused. It is still there now, its appearance just as the gentleman described." Da'an then rose together with the lady and his family to view the image, and it was indeed what he had seen; the cinnabar dot on its back matched the location of the patch perfectly. Thereupon they marveled at it, and he came to revere and believe in the Buddhadharma. Da'an's wife, Lady Xiahou, was the younger sister of Xuan, prefect of Langzhou; she had previously related this to [Tang] Lin. Later, Da'an's nephew, Shi Yu, who became chamberlain for the Palace of Justice, also related the same.