釋門自鏡錄 1.21

1.21

道志未詳何許人。少出家。住宋北多寶寺。甞典知殿塔。幽竊帳蓋等物。後遂偷像眉間相珠。既而開穿垣壁。若外盜者。故僧眾不能覺也。積旬餘日而得病。便見異人以戈矛刺之。時來時去來輒驚叫。應聲流血。初猶日中兩度如此。其後彌甚刺者漸。數傷痍遍體。呻呼不絕。其寺僧頗疑其有罪。欲為懺謝。始問猶諱而不言。將盡二三日乃具自陳列。泣涕請救。曰吾愚勃昧道。謂無塗炭。失意作罪。招此殃酷。生受楚栲。死嬰刀鑊。已麋之身唯垂哀愍。別無餘物。唯衣被氈履或充足一會。并須請故舊為吾懺悔。昔偷像相珠二枚。一枚已屬嫗人。不可復得。一枚以質錢。在陳照家。今可以贖取。言終而卒。既贖相殊。并設齋懺。初工人安珠。展轉迴旋終不諧合。眾僧復為禮拜燒香乃得著焉。年餘而同學等。於昏夜聞空中有語。詳聽即道志聲也。云自死已來。備嬰痛毒。方累年劫未有出期。賴蒙眾僧哀怜救護贖相珠故。於苦酷之中。時有間息。感恩罔已。故暫來稱謝。言此而已聞其語。時腥腐臭氣不可言。言終稍歇。即泰始末年也。

It is not known where Daozhi came from. He renounced household life in his youth and lived at the North Duobao Monastery under the Song dynasty. He once managed the halls and pagodas, secretly pilfering curtains, canopies, and other goods; later, he went so far as to steal the ūrṇā pearl from between the eyebrows of an image. Afterwards, he bored a hole through the wall, making it look as though an outside thief had done it; therefore, the monastic assembly was unable to detect it. After more than ten days, he fell ill, seeing strange men pierce him with spears and lances. Coming and going at intervals, he would shriek in alarm whenever they came, blood flowing in response to his cries. At first it happened like this twice a day, but afterwards it grew increasingly severe, the piercings becoming more frequent; wounds and injuries covered his entire body, and his groaning never ceased. The monks of the monastery strongly suspected he had committed a transgression and wished to perform repentance on his behalf; when they first questioned him, he still concealed it and would not speak. Two or three days before his end, he finally confessed it all himself, weeping and pleading for deliverance, saying, "I was foolish and defiant, blind to the Way, thinking there would be no suffering of mud and charcoal; losing my senses, I committed transgressions and brought about this harsh calamity. In life I suffer beatings and torture; in death I shall be ensnared by knives and cauldrons. For my already mangled body, please only bestow pity and compassion! I have no other belongings; only my clothing, bedding, felts, and shoes might suffice for a communal assembly, and you must invite my old friends to repent on my behalf. In the past I stole two ūrṇā pearls from the image: one has already come into the possession of an old woman and can no longer be retrieved; the other was pawned for money at Chen Zhao's house, and can now be redeemed." Having finished speaking, he died. After redeeming the ūrṇā pearl, [the monks] also arranged a vegetarian feast of repentance. At first, when the artisan installed the pearl, turning and rotating it back and forth, it would not fit properly. Only after the assembly of monks bowed and burned incense on its behalf could it be fitted. More than a year later, at dusk, his fellow students heard a voice in the air; listening closely, it was Daozhi's voice. It said, "Since my death, I have been fully subjected to agony and torment; many years and kalpas lie ahead with no date of release. Thanks to the monastic assembly's compassionate deliverance and protection in redeeming the ūrṇā pearl, within this harsh suffering there are occasional respites. My gratitude is boundless, so I have come briefly to give thanks." Having said this, it ended. While hearing his words, an unspeakably rancid and putrid stench arose, which subsided slightly once the speech ended. This occurred at the end of the Taishi era.