廣弘明集 7.62

7.62

Examining the *Mingbao ji* (Records of Retributive Evidences) by Tang Lin, it says: The Grand Astrologer Fu Yi, from the beginning of the Wude era to the fourteenth year of Zhenguan, constantly slandered and denounced the Buddha and the sangha. In the autumn of that year he suddenly fell ill and died. Earlier, Yi had been on good terms with the Daoists Fu Renjun and Xue Ze. Later, Fu and Xue were both given official posts. Renjun died first. Ze saw Jun in a dream, who said, 'The money you previously owed me may be given to the mud-man.' Ze asked, 'Who is that?' He replied, 'It is Fu Yi.' That same night, Feng Changming, Director of the Palace Administration, also dreamed that he was in a place where he saw many deceased acquaintances. Ming asked, 'Are the matters of retribution for sin and blessing in the Buddhist scriptures real?' They replied, 'They are all definitively real.' He also asked, 'As Fu Yi in life did not believe in the Buddha, what retribution will he receive upon death?' They answered, 'Fu Yi has already been allocated to Yuezhou to become a mud-man.' When Changming entered the palace court at dawn, he met Xue Ze and told him of his dream. Ze told his own as well, and the two dreams matched. Lin was at their side and joined them in sighing in lamentation. Ze immediately sent the money to Yi and recounted what he had dreamed. A few days later, Yi died. Upon examination, 'mud-man' refers to a denizen of Niraya. Niraya is another name for hell. The eight great hells lie beneath the earth, while the other miscellaneous hells are scattered across the mountains and seas where suffering is undergone. How deeply lamentable it is!