集神州三寶感通錄 3.10

3.10

Emperor Wenxuan of the Northern Qi was in Jinyang. He sent a man riding a white camel, saying, "Go to my monastery and fetch the sūtra case." The emissary asked, "I do not know which monastery." The Emperor said, "Simply let the camel go; it knows where the monastery is on its own." Leaving the city late in the day, the camel traveled with extreme haste; [the rider] was suddenly as if asleep. Suddenly he arrived at a mountain named Mingji. Halfway up the mountain there was a monastery. A crowd of novices said, "Gao Yang's camel has come!" They then led him into the monastery, where he saw an old monk. Having bowed, [the monk] asked, "How is Gao Yang doing as Son of Heaven?" He answered, "Sage and luminous." [The monk] asked, "Why have you come?" He said, "I was ordered to fetch a sūtra case." The monk said, "When Yang was in the monastery, he was lazy about reading sūtras. Now, the eastern end of the northern row is his room; you may take the case and give it to him." He immediately mounted the camel and returned. As if in sleep and as if in a dream, he suddenly arrived in Jinyang, and returned his commission with the case. Not long after, the Emperor traveled to Mujing Temple at Gukou. There was a foolish man who was ready to sacrifice his body and could not speak intelligible words. He suddenly said to the Emperor, "I will go first; you may come later." The Emperor agreed. That night the foolish man died. Not long after, the Emperor fell ill in Jinyang. He had Liu Taozhi carry him as he walked, his nose dripping and streaming blood. That night the Emperor passed away.