集神州三寶感通錄 3.45

3.45

I once [knew] Dhyāna Master Tanyun in Xi Prefecture, a native of Ding Prefecture who was seventy years old. During the turmoil at the close of the Sui, he secluded himself in the Bigan Mountains of Lishi. He constantly recited the Lotus Sūtra and wished to copy it, but found no one of like mind. Years passed in this way, when suddenly a scholar arrived out of nowhere, saying that he could carry out all the required purifications. Thereupon, early at dawn after eating, he bathed, donned pure garments, received the eight precepts, and entered the pure room. Holding sandalwood incense in his mouth, burning incense, and hanging banners, he copied it in silence. He came out only at dusk, and did the same the next day, never professing weariness. When the sūtra was finished, he was given offerings according to the Dharma; as he was escorted out the gate, he vanished in an instant. Then it was mounted and dyed yellow in full accord with the orthodox Dharma. Yun received, upheld, and read it; it was wrapped in seven layers, and at each layer he washed his hands with fragrant water, never omitting this even for a moment. Later, facing barbarian bandits, he placed the sūtra in a box and set it upon a high crag. A year later, when the bandits were subdued, he searched for it but could not find it. Wandering in anxiety and searching everywhere, he finally found it beneath the crag. The box and wrapping cloth were rotted through, but upon brushing away the decay, he saw the sūtra fresh and pristine as before. In the tenth year of Zhenguan, I saw it with my own eyes.