三寶感應要略錄 2.44

2.44

In Shanyin County of Kuaiji, there was a scholar whose surname and given name are lost. His body had a slight ailment, and he vowed to copy the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra. On the night he first inscribed the title, he dreamed of a heavenly maiden stroking his body; when he awoke from the dream, his bodily illness was instantly gone. He brought forth even greater faith and finished one complete copy of the text. Then he made a vow to copy a set for his deceased parents. When he reached the "Inquiring after the Ailment" chapter, he suddenly dreamed of a devaputra riding a cloud, who came to his dwelling room and said: "I am your father. On account of evil karma, I fell into the Dark Hells. Because you produced this sūtra for us, its light shone upon my body, my suffering ceased, and I was reborn in heaven. Out of joy, I have come to tell you the cause." He then asked: "I do not know where my mother is?" The father answered: "Your mother, on account of greed for wealth, fell among the hungry ghosts. When you copied the 'Buddha Land' chapter, she was freed from suffering and was reborn directly in the Land of Akṣobhya (the Immovable). I too will soon be born there." The scholar copied diligently to the end, wept upon waking from the dream, completed another set, and made offerings to it. Again he dreamed of an official in strange robes, holding a banner, who came to announce: "In King Yama's register of summons, your name was present. Because you copied the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra, you may be born in the Buddha land of Golden Millet (Jinshu). The King grants you twenty more years of life. Strive diligently, do not be remiss." He died at the age of seventy-nine; his body turned golden in colour. People near and far all said that this was an outward sign of his rebirth in the Buddha land of Golden Millet, nothing else.