冥報記 2.19

2.19

Lady Dulu, Senior Dowager of the Duke of Chen, was the elder sister of Kuan, Duke of Rui. The lady had faith in meritorious deeds and recited the Vajracchedikā-prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, but with about one sheet left before finishing the roll, she was long unable to complete it. Later, one day at dusk, she suffered a bitter headache, her four limbs were ill at ease, and as she lay down at night it grew worse. The lady reflected: 'If I should die, I will never finish the sūtra.' She wished to rise and recite it, but the candles in the hall were already extinguished. The lady therefore got up and ordered her maid to light a candle. A moment later the maid returned; there was no fire in the kitchen. The lady ordered the gate opened to seek and obtain fire from other households, but there too there was no fire. The lady felt deep and growing distress and regret. Suddenly she saw a burning candle in the courtyard, which came up the steps and entered the hall, proceeding straight before the bed, floating about three feet above the floor without anyone holding it, shining as bright as day. The lady was surprised and delighted, and her headache was also cured. She immediately took the sūtra and recited it. After a short while, the servants struck a flint to obtain fire and entered the hall bearing a candle; the former candlelight immediately went out. On that very night, she recited it to completion. From then on, she made it her regular practice to recite it five times a day. Later, when the Duke of Rui was about to die, the lady went to visit him. The Duke said to the lady: 'My elder sister, by the merit of reciting the sūtra, will live to a hundred years of age and be born in a good place.' The lady is still in good health today, at the age of eighty. (The lady related this herself to Lin's sister-in-law.)