三寶感應要略錄 2.7

2.7

Whenever the Śākya Linggan lectured on the Avataṃsaka, far and near were cooled or warmed [accordingly]. In the seventeenth year of the Kaihuang era [597], he fell ill and swooned away into unconsciousness; only his heart remained warm, so they dared not inter him. Later he awoke and said: 'I was born in Tuṣita Heaven, where I saw the two Dharma masters Huiyuan and Tanyou, sitting side by side on a lotus platform, their brilliance peerless in the world. They said to Gan, "You and my disciples will all be born here again!"' In the first month of the eighteenth year [598], he died at the monastery at the age of seventy-eight, and was cremated on the northern side of Mount Zhongnan. Earlier, Gan had dedicated his will to honoring the Avataṃsaka, and frequently based himself on the text to contemplate the Ocean of the Lotus Treasury World, as well as the contemplation of Maitreya's heavenly palace. When his illness became severe, his pupils stared upward and he did not respond to people. After a long while, he returned to normal. The śramaṇa Tongzhen, who was at his side inquiring after his illness, was addressed by Gan: 'Just now I saw a blue-clad youth lead me to the Tuṣita heavenly palace. However, heavenly pleasure does not last long; in the end one falls back into saṃsāra. The Lotus Treasury is what I aim for.' Shortly thereafter his breath ceased. In a moment, Tongzhen asked again, 'What did you see?' Gan said: 'I saw great waters filling everywhere, with a flower like a chariot wheel; I sat atop it. My wish has been completely fulfilled.' Soon thereafter he expired.