釋門自鏡錄 1.50

1.50

并州石壁寺有僧。失其姓名。妬忌善人多行詭道。寺僧明寂者。戒行貞肅誠在住持每。欲與眾共修禪慧。此僧動為勵惡壓絕正法。視寂如怨萬途毀謗。不勝恚毒。操刃擬之。僧有尊師。業理高素對眾訶責罰令恭立。雖從師命忿意彌堅。少長開諫確然不拔。立經二日寂及諸僧反從悔謝。但瞋目忿氣姿容轉惡。暨三日房中僵臥而死。寂乃其師僧眾等慨怪哀痛。恨不識物情。就其屍邊悔過自責。復為鑄像轉經代其懺洗。至暮目閉氣續乃吐一蛇長尺餘。走出戶外俄便穌活。於是追悔前愆。奉行慈忍。敬寂如師。遂成勝士。

In Shibi Monastery in Bingzhou, there was a monk whose name has been lost. Jealous of good people, he frequently engaged in deceitful ways. There was a monk of the monastery named Mingji, whose moral conduct was upright and chaste, and who was genuinely dedicated to sustaining the monastery; whenever he wished to cultivate meditation and wisdom together with the assembly, this monk would invariably incite malice to suppress and cut off the correct Dharma. Regarding Mingji as an enemy, he slandered him in every way, and unable to master his poisonous rage, he wielded a blade and threatened him. The monk had a venerable teacher of lofty karma and principle, who rebuked him before the assembly and punished him by ordering him to stand respectfully. Although he complied with his teacher's command, his resentment grew ever firmer; though young and old admonished him, he remained obstinate and immovable. When he had stood for two days, Mingji and the other monks instead came to apologize and ask for his pardon, yet he only glared with anger, his visage turning even more vicious. By the third day, he lay stiff and died in his room. Mingji, his teacher, and the assembly of monks were astonished and grieved, regretting that they had not understood his feelings. Beside his corpse, they repented of their faults, blamed themselves, and furthermore cast images and chanted sūtras to perform confession and cleansing on his behalf. By evening, with his eyes closed, his breath resumed, and he vomited a snake over a foot long. It scurried outside the door, and moments later he revived. Thereupon, he felt remorse for his past misdeeds, practiced loving-kindness and forbearance, revered Mingji as his teacher, and ultimately became an exceptional person.