三寶感應要略錄 3.83

3.83

唐真寂寺沙門惠生。是惠如禪師弟子。誦大乘。遂一日一夜不動。如入禪定。及曉更開眼。悲喜交集。流淚汗血。乘僧問所由。答曰。吾被請閻魔王宮。王從座而起。恭敬語言。阿師見地獄否。答雖聞其名。未見其實。乃勅使者遂令去。於東方次第。見三十二大城。一一城中。皆有地獄。受苦之輩多是沙門。於鐵鑊緣上。有一沙門。說法示教利喜。罪人即問。公何人。於地獄中說法。沙門答曰。我是陀羅尼自在王菩薩。於此大鐵圍中。有無量沙門地獄。貪著世利。犯佛戒品。聖教同宿住穢伽藍。無慚愧心。虛受信施。不淨說法。誑惑世間。如斯等罪。皆感獄果。我以悲哀彼諸沙門愚癡招苦。或於鑊緣上。或於鐵車上。隨所為說法。令憶念昔所犯罪業。愧懺厭離悔過自責。吾自見聞此事。是故悲喜。聞者難異。改惡蓋多矣。

The śramaṇa Huisheng of Zhenji Monastery under the Tang was a disciple of Chan Master Huiru. He was reciting the Mahāyāna when he suddenly remained motionless for a day and night, as if entering meditative absorption. When dawn broke he opened his eyes again, sorrow and joy mingling together, tears flowing and sweat running like blood. The monks asked him the cause, and he replied: "I was summoned to King Yama's palace. The king rose from his seat and respectfully said to me: 'Ācārya, have you seen the hells?' I answered, 'Although I have heard their names, I have not seen their reality.' Thereupon he ordered a messenger to lead me away. In the eastern quarter, I saw thirty-two great cities in succession. Within each city there were hells, and those suffering torment were mostly śramaṇas. Upon the rim of an iron cauldron, there was a śramaṇa preaching the Dharma, instructing, encouraging, benefiting, and gladdening them. The sinners asked, 'Sir, who are you to be preaching the Dharma within the hells?' The śramaṇa replied: 'I am Dhāraṇīśvararāja Bodhisattva. Within this Great Iron Enclosure, there are immeasurable hells for śramaṇas who, through greed for worldly gain, violated the Buddha's precepts; who shared lodgings contrary to sacred teachings, inhabiting polluted saṅghārāmas; who lacked a sense of shame, falsely accepted the gifts of the faithful, preached the Dharma impurely, and deceived the world. Transgressions such as these all bring about retribution in hell. Because I pity those śramaṇas who incurred suffering through foolishness, whether upon the rim of a cauldron or upon an iron chariot, wherever appropriate I preach the Dharma to them, causing them to remember the sinful karma they committed in the past, to feel shame, repent, develop revulsion, make amends, and reproach themselves.' Having personally witnessed this matter, I was filled with both sorrow and joy." Those who heard this were deeply shaken, and very many reformed their evils.