南嶽總勝集 3.29

3.29

長慶中有馬拯處士。性閑清虛。好遊山水。不擇險峭。盡能躋攀。居于閩中。因詣衡山祝融峯伏虎師佛堂道場。嚴潔果食馨香。兼列白金三笏于佛榻上。見一老僧。眉毛俱白。狀貌魁梧。甚喜拯來。拯使一僕挈其囊。僧曰。暫請郎君僕夫至近縣市少鹽醯。拯許之。僕乃持錢下山去。僧旋亦不知所向。續又有一馬沼山人。亦獨登此來。見拯甚相慰悅。沼告拯曰。適來中道遇一虎食一夫。不知唯氏之子。說其服飾。即拯僕使爾。拯大駭。沼又云。遙見虎食人盡乃脫鞹衣。衣禪衣乃老僧也。拯愈怖怯。及沼見僧。曰只此是也。拯白僧曰。馬山人來云。某僕使至半山路已被虎食如何。僧怒曰。貧道此境山無虎狼。草無毒螫。路絕蛇虺。林絕鴟鴞。無信偶語耳。拯細窺僧口吻。猶帶殷血而不欲言。二人跧其食堂。牢扁其戶。明燭伺之。夜深聞戶外有虎怒首觸其扇者二四。賴戶壯而不墮。二子懼而焚香虔誠叩首於堂內土偶賓頭盧者久之。聞土偶吟詩曰。寅人且溺欄中水。午子須分艮畔金。若教特進重張弩。過後將軍必損心。二子聆之而解其義曰。寅人乃僧虎也。欄中水即井也。午子即我也。艮畔金者銀也。其下兩句即不能解。乃明僧扣門乃曰。郎君起來食粥。二子方敢起關食糜異。二子計之曰。此僧且在。我等無敢下山去。乃召僧窺井中云有怪物。僧細視。次二子推僧墮井。乃化為虎。以巨石鎮之而斃。二子遂取銀三笏而下山。僅昏黑而遇一獵人於道旁。張[弓*咼]弓了上其樹而為柵居之。語二子曰。無觸我機。兼語二子曰。山下猶遠虎方暴。何不且上此柵來。二子悸慄。遂攀緣而上。將欲人定。忽三五十人過。或僧或道。或丈夫或女人。歌吟者戲舞者。忽至[弓*咼]弓所。眾怒曰。朝來已被二賊殺我禪和。今方追捕。次又敢有人張我將軍。遂發其機而去。二子並聞其說。因詰獵者曰。此是倀鬼乃虎食之人也。為虎前呵道耳。二子因徵獵者姓氏。曰進姓牛。二子大喜曰。土偶詩下句今有驗矣。牛進即特進也。將軍即虎矣。遂勸獵者。重張其箭。獵者然之。纔却登柵。果有一虎咆哮而至。前足觸機。箭乃中其第三班貫心而踣逡巡。諸倀鬼奔走却回。伏其虎前哭甚哀曰。誰人又殺我將軍。二子因怒而叱之曰。汝輩無知下鬼。生遭虎嚙死。吾今為汝報讐。不能慚謝。猶敢慟哭。豈有為鬼不靈如是遂悄寂。忽有一鬼答曰。都不知將軍乃虎耳聆郎君之說方大惶悟躡其尾而罵之。感謝而去。乃明二子分白金一笏與獵者而歸（出傳奇）向子文。長沙人。寶歷中。得官衡州。貧不能歸。愛山水之勝。一旦謁嶽神廟。時當盛暑。留宿旬餘。忽有一人。青巾紫裘。面如琢玉。神色威整。鬚眉如畫。子文異之。骨相非凡。翊旦往見。問之乃曰。余龔慶長也。世家洛陽。少遇司馬隱元于鳴皐山下。隱元者自是委羽洞天之靈官也。凡五嶽四瀆洞天福地。各有靈官主之。較量功罪。採訪善惡。聞于九天使者府。隱元謂慶長曰。汝宿生常居要職。有辯冤雪死之勞。當時土民陰受汝賜。逮朱泚僭逆仗節死事。忠憤之氣毅然不衰。故得再生為人。他時通悟必能記憶矣。九天使者錄汝之功命。我授汝石精金光藏景錄形神劍之法中黃太一默朝之朝。因得度世。近登紫霄峯望氣。見嶺外妖氣氛。欲往禳除。經過嶽祠。故來朝謁。子文為之致躬。慶長顧侍者取琴鼓之。其曲名曰金鯨躍海雨滴秋荷醉淘月白雲引之類。音韻清越。非凡聲也。陪從連日。臨別子文再拜言曰。幸得際遇欲從先生南遊可乎。慶長曰。未可也。汝當仕進。更十八年中條山相見。子文再拜乞言。慶長曰。學先乎功行逢時得志。汝宜勉之。至于吐納服餌。乃其餘事。子文懇請再三。慶長曰。當俟後會。子文曰。更有教戒。誓當稟奉。慶長沈思良久云。汝父祖旅殯僧舍。頗苦鬼役。早卜吉壤以終大事。子文流涕拜謝。翩然而去。

During the Changqing era, there was the retired scholar Ma Zheng, whose nature was leisurely, pure, and untrammeled. Fond of roaming mountains and streams, he made no distinctions of danger or steepness, being able to scale them all. While dwelling in Fujian, he went to visit the Buddha Hall Bodhimaṇḍa of the Tiger-Taming Master at Zhurong Peak on Hengshan. It was solemn and clean, with fragrant fruits and meals, and three tablets of white silver were laid out upon the Buddha couch. He saw an old monk with eyebrows all white, towering and robust in stature, who was delighted by Zheng's arrival. Zheng had a servant carry his luggage. The monk said, "May I trouble the gentleman's servant to go to the nearby market town to buy a little salt and sauce?" Zheng agreed. The servant then took money and went down the mountain. Soon, the monk was also nowhere to be found. Presently, another mountain dweller named Ma Zhao arrived, also climbing here alone; seeing Zheng, he was greatly cheered and comforted. Zhao said to Zheng, "Just now on the road, I encountered a tiger devouring a man, though I did not know whose son he was." When he described the clothing, it was none other than Zheng's servant. Zheng was terrified. Zhao added, "From afar, I saw that after the tiger finished devouring the man, it shed its hide, and beneath was a monk in Chan robes—it was that old monk." Zheng became even more frightened. When Zhao saw the monk return, he said, "That is the one!" Zheng said to the monk, "Hermit Ma arrived and said that my servant was devoured by a tiger midway up the mountain. How can this be?" The monk said angrily, "In this domain of mine, the mountains are free of tigers and wolves, the grasses lack poisonous stings, the roads have no vipers, and the forests have no owls. Do not believe gossip!" Zheng looked closely at the monk's mouth and saw traces of dark blood, but dared not speak. The two crouched in the dining hall, bolted the doors fast, and kept watch by candlelight. Late into the night, they heard a tiger outside smashing its head furiously against the leaves of the door several times, but thanks to the door's strength, it did not collapse. In fear, the two burned incense and bowed their heads reverently before an earthen figure of Piṇḍola in the hall for a long time. They heard the earthen figure chant a poem: / "The tiger of Yin must drown in the water within the rail; / The man of Wu must share the metal beside Gen. / If you have Tejin draw the crossbow once again, / When he passes, the general's heart will surely be pierced." / The two listened and grasped its meaning, saying: "The man of Yin is the monk-tiger. The water within the rail is a well. The man of Wu is us. The metal beside Gen is silver. As for the next two lines, we cannot fathom them." At dawn, the monk knocked at the door and said, "Gentlemen, arise and eat your porridge!" Only then did the two dare open the door and eat, though with great dread. The two plotted, saying, "As long as this monk remains, we will never dare go down the mountain." Thereupon they called the monk to peer into the well, claiming there was a strange creature within. As the monk peered closely, the two pushed him into the well. He transformed into a tiger, and they crushed him with a giant boulder until he died. The two then took the three tablets of silver and descended the mountain. When it was nearly dark, they met a hunter by the roadside who had set a trigger-bow and climbed a tree to dwell in a stockade. He said to the two, "Do not trigger my snare!" He also said, "It is still far to the foot of the mountain, and the tigers are now raging. Why not climb up into this stockade for now?" Trembling with fear, the two climbed up. Just as people were settling into sleep, thirty to fifty figures suddenly passed by—some monks, some Daoists, some men, some women, singing, chanting, playing, and dancing. Suddenly arriving at the place of the trigger-bow, the crowd said furiously, "This morning, two thieves already killed our Chan fellow, and we are just now pursuing them; how dare someone now set a trap for our general?" Thereupon they sprang the mechanism and left. The two heard their words, and inquired of the hunter, who said, "These are chang ghosts—people devoured by tigers who now act as their heralds." The two then asked the hunter's name and surname, and he replied, "My given name is Jin, and my surname is Niu." The two rejoiced, saying, "The latter lines of the earthen figure's poem have now proven true! 'Niu Jin' is 'Tejin', and the 'General' is the tiger!" They urged the hunter to reset his arrow, to which the hunter agreed. Just as they climbed back into the stockade, indeed a tiger came roaring forward. Its front paw touched the tripwire, and the arrow struck right through the center of its chest, penetrating its heart, and it collapsed. Soon, all the chang ghosts scurried back, fell before the tiger, and wept bitterly, saying, "Who has killed our general again?" Enraged, the two scolded them, saying, "You ignorant, wretched ghosts! While alive, you were devoured by the tiger; now that we have avenged you, far from showing shame and gratitude, you still dare to wail! How can ghosts be so devoid of numinous awareness?" There was complete silence. Suddenly, a ghost replied, "We did not know at all that the general was a tiger! Now that we have heard the gentlemen's words, we are deeply startled and awakened." They trampled its tail, cursed it, thanked [the two], and departed. At dawn, the two shared one tablet of silver with the hunter and returned home. (Derived from the Chuanqi.) / Xiang Ziwen was a man of Changsha. During the Baoli era, he received an official post in Hengzhou, but being poor, he could not return home. Fond of the beauty of mountains and rivers, he went one day to pay respects at the Mount Heng Temple. As it was the height of summer, he stayed for more than ten days. Suddenly, a man appeared wearing a blue headcloth and purple fur robe, his face like carved jade, his demeanor imposing and solemn, his beard and eyebrows like a painting. Ziwen marveled at him, seeing his physiognomy was extraordinary. The next morning, he went to see him and inquired of him. The man said, "I am Gong Qingchang. My family has lived for generations in Luoyang. In my youth, I encountered Sima Yinyuan at the foot of Mount Minggao. Yinyuan was an immortal official of the Weiyu Grotto-Heaven. In all the Five Sacred Peaks, Four Rivers, grotto-heavens, and blessed lands, there are immortal officials who preside over them, weighing merits and offenses, investigating good and evil, and reporting to the Bureau of the Nine Heavens' Envoys. Yinyuan said to me, 'In your previous life, you held key offices and labored to clarify injustices and redress wrongful deaths. At that time, the local people secretly received your bounty. When Zhu Ci usurped power and rebelled, you held fast to your emblems and died for the cause; your loyal and indignant spirit remained resolute and unflagging. Therefore, you were able to be reborn as a human, and when you attain awakening in another time, you will surely remember it. The Envoys of the Nine Heavens have recorded your merits and ordered me to transmit to you the Method of the Divine Sword of Stone Essence and Golden Light for Concealing the Form and Recording the Shape, and the Morning Audience of the Central Yellow Grand Unity in Silent Audience. Thus you have attained deliverance from the world.' Recently, I ascended Zixiao Peak to observe the vapors and saw malevolent vapors beyond the ridges, so I wish to go and exorcise them. Passing by the Yue Temple, I came to pay homage." Ziwen bowed to him. Qingchang looked to his attendant to fetch a zither and played it; the tunes included "Golden Whale Leaping from the Sea," "Raindrops on Autumn Lotuses," and "Drunk in the Moonlit Waves, Rousing White Clouds." The tones were clear and transcendent, unlike ordinary sounds. Ziwen accompanied him for consecutive days. When about to part, Ziwen bowed twice and said, "Having had the good fortune of this encounter, may I follow you, sir, on your southern journey?" Qingchang said, "Not yet. You must advance in your official career; eighteen years from now, we shall meet at Mount Zhongtiao." Ziwen bowed twice to beg for parting advice. Qingchang said, "In study, meritorious deeds come first; when you meet your time, you will achieve your ambition. You should strive for this. As for breath circulation and ingesting elixirs, these are secondary matters." Ziwen pleaded earnestly again and again. Qingchang said, "We must wait for our later meeting." Ziwen said, "If there are further teachings and admonitions, I vow to uphold them." Qingchang pondered deeply for a long while and said, "Your father and grandfather are temporarily interred in a monastery, suffering greatly under ghostly labor. Divine a propitious burial plot soon to complete this great duty." Weeping tears, Ziwen bowed in gratitude, and [Qingchang] departed lightly away.