冥報記 2.12

2.12

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.