釋門自鏡錄 1.93

1.93

釋僧規未詳何許人。少出家頗以化物為務。而輕犯小戒。多游俗家。時京兆張瑜常請僧規在家供養。永初元年十二月五日。無病忽暴亡。二日而穌自說云。五日夜二更中。聞門巷間嘵嘵有聲。須臾見有五人秉炬火執信幡逕來入屋。叱咀僧規規因頓臥怳然。五人便以走繩縛將去。行至一山都無草木。土色堅黑有類石鐵。山側左右白骨積填。過山數十里。至三岐路。有一人甚長壯。被鎧執仗問五人曰。有幾人來。答曰。正一人耳。五人又將規入一城。城外有屋數十。悉築壤為之。屋前有立木長十餘丈。上有鐵梁。形如桔槹。左右有土籄。大小數品。有一人衣幘竝赤。語規曰。汝生時有何罪福。依實說之勿妄語也。規惶怖未答。赤衣人語一人如局吏者云。可開簿撿其罪福也。有頃吏至長木下。提一籄土懸鐵梁上稱之。如覺低昂。吏謂規曰。此稱量罪福之稱也。汝福少罪多。應先受罪。俄有一人衣冠長者。謂規曰。汝沙門也。何不念佛。我聞悔過可度八難。規於是一心稱佛。衣冠人謂吏曰。可更為此人稱之。既是佛弟子幸可度脫。吏復為上籄稱之。穪乃正平。既而將規至監官前辨之。監官執筆觀簿遲疑未決久。之又有一人。朱衣玄冠佩印綬執玉版來曰。算簿上未有此人名也。監官愕然命左右收錄云云。須臾見反縛向者五人來。監官曰。殺鬼何以濫將人來乃鞭之。須臾有使者。稱天帝命喚道人來。既至帝宮。經歷所見略皆金寶精光晃煜。帝左右朱衣寶冠。帝曰。汝是沙門何不勤業而為小鬼橫收捕也。規稽首祈恩。帝曰。汝命未終今當還生。宜勤精進勿屢游白衣家也。使者送規至瑜家而去也。

Shi Senggui: it is unknown where he was from. In his youth he underwent renunciation and was quite occupied with converting beings, but he lightly breached minor precepts and often visited lay households. At that time, Zhang Yu of Jingzhao often invited Senggui to his home to make offerings. On the fifth day of the twelfth month in the first year of Yongchu, without being ill, he suddenly died abruptly. Reviving after two days, he recounted: 'During the second watch of the night of the fifth day, I heard a clamor in the lane outside the gate. Presently, I saw five men holding torches and carrying message banners come straight into the room. They shouted at and cursed Senggui; Senggui then collapsed, bewildered. The five men bound me with a running noose and led me away. We reached a mountain entirely devoid of grass and trees; the soil was hard and black, resembling iron and stone. On both sides of the mountain, white bones were piled high. After passing several tens of li beyond the mountain, we came to a three-forked road. A man of immense stature, clad in armor and holding a weapon, asked the five men: "How many have arrived?" They answered: "Just one person." The five men then brought Senggui into a city. Outside the city were dozens of buildings, all constructed of tamped earth. In front of the buildings stood a wooden pole more than ten chang high, with an iron beam upon it shaped like a well sweep. On either side were earth baskets of varying sizes. A man dressed in red clothes and a red headscarf said to Senggui: "What sins and merits did you have during your life? State the truth; do not lie." Senggui was terrified and did not answer. The red-clothed man spoke to a person resembling an office clerk: "You may open the register to inspect his sins and merits." After a short while, the clerk went beneath the tall wooden pole, lifted a basket of earth, hung it upon the iron beam, and weighed it, checking its rise and fall. The clerk said to Senggui: "This is the scale for weighing sins and merits. Your merits are few and your sins are many; you should first undergo punishment." Presently, an elder wearing official robes and a cap said to Senggui: "You are a śramaṇa; why do you not recollected the Buddha? I have heard that repenting transgressions can deliver one from the eight difficulties." Senggui thereupon recollected the Buddha with a single mind. The man in robes and cap said to the clerk: "You may weigh it again for this man. Since he is a disciple of the Buddha, he may fortunately achieve deliverance." The clerk again raised the basket and weighed it, and the scale was then perfectly balanced. Thereupon, they brought Senggui before the presiding official to adjudicate. The presiding official held a brush, examined the register, and hesitated for a long time without deciding. After a while, another man arrived wearing a crimson robe and black cap, carrying a seal with ribbons and holding a jade tablet, and said: "This person's name is not yet on the lifespan register." Astonished, the presiding official ordered his attendants to record this. Soon after, the former five men were seen brought in with their hands bound behind their backs. The presiding official said: "Deadly ghosts, why did you bring someone indiscriminately?" and had them flogged. Shortly after, an emissary came, announcing the order of the Heavenly Emperor to summon the monk. Upon arriving at the Emperor's palace, all that he passed and saw was made of gold and jewels, radiant and dazzling. To the Emperor's left and right stood attendants in crimson robes and jeweled caps. The Emperor said: "You are a śramaṇa; why did you not apply yourself diligently to your practice, causing yourself to be unlawfully seized by petty ghosts?" Senggui prostrated and begged for mercy. The Emperor said: "Your lifespan has not ended; now you shall return to life. You should be diligent and vigorous, and do not frequently visit the homes of white-robed laity." The emissary escorted Senggui to Zhang Yu's home and departed.'