冥報記 2.5

2.5

Wei Zhonggui of Linyi was by nature filial and fraternal, and was respected by the prefecture and village. At the age of seventeen, the commandery recommended him as exceptionally distinguished, and he became the Magistrate of Mengyang. His father, Lian, was formerly the Vice Magistrate of Ziyang Commandery, who retired due to old age. During the Wude era, he fell ill; Zhonggui nursed him without removing his cap and sash. After a long time, his father died. He dismissed his wives and concubines and kept vigil beside the tomb. Believing in Buddhism, he recited the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra. By day, he carried earth to form a boundary mound; by night, he devoted himself to reciting the sūtra, diligent in this without weariness, not returning home for the full three years. Once, a tiger came before the wall at night and crouched down to listen to the sūtra, staying long without leaving. Zhonggui focused his mind and thought, “I do not wish to commune with fierce beasts.” It then got up and left. The next morning, he saw seventy-two stems of lingzhi mushrooms growing around the tomb. Those facing the grave stood in orderly rows as if planted by human hands, all with vermilion stems and purple caps, the caps measuring five inches in diameter, of extraordinary luster and color. The neighbors reported it to the prefecture and county. At that time, Lord Xin was Regional Inspector and Shen Yu was Administrative Assistant; they went together to the gravesite to inspect it. Suddenly, a bird resembling a duck appeared, holding a pair of carp in its beak, placed them on the ground, and flew away. Xin and the others sighed in deepest admiration, harvested the lingzhi mushrooms, sealed them, and memorialized the throne; an imperial edict commended his family gate. (When Tang Lin was sent on an imperial mission to Jiangdong in the seventh year of the Zhenguan era, the Yangzhou acupuncturist Zhen Tuo recounted this to Lin.)