冥報記 2.16

2.16

Cen Wenben, Director of the Secretariat, was a native of Jiangling. In his youth he had faith in Buddhism and constantly recited the Universal Gate Chapter of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra. He once took a boat across the Wu River, and in midstream the boat broke apart, drowning everyone else. While Wenben was in the water, he heard someone say: 'Just be mindful of the Buddha, and you will surely not die.' This was said three times. Soon after, he surged out with the waves and had already reached the north bank, thereby escaping disaster. Later, he held a vegetarian feast in Jiangling, and monks gathered at his home. A visiting monk stayed behind after the others left and said to Wenben: 'The realm is about to fall into chaos. You are fortunate not to be associated with such company, and you will eventually meet a time of peace and attain wealth and noble status.' Having spoken, he hurried out. Soon afterward, Wenben found two relics in his own food bowl. Later things indeed turned out just as he had said. (Wenben related this to Lin himself.)