辯正論 7.4.2

7.4.2

當歸索代。 後轉水官都督。 總知諸獄事給馬兵。 東到地獄案行。 復到泥犁地獄。 男女五六千人。 有大樹橫廣五十餘步高千丈。 四邊皆有劍。 上人著樹上然火。 其下十十五五墮火劍上貫其身體。 云此人咒咀罵詈。 奪人財物。 毀傷良善。 見泰父母及二弟。 在此獄中涕泣。 見二人齎文書來。 勅獄吏言。 有三人家事佛。 為其於寺中懸幡燒香。 咒願救解生時罪過。 出就福舍已見自然衣服。 徑詣一門云名開光大舍。 有三重黑門。 皆白璧赤柱。 此三人即入門。 見大殿珍寶耀目。 堂有二師子併伏顧負一金玉床。 云名師子之座。 見一人身可長丈六。 姿顏金色項有日光。 坐此座上。 沙門立侍甚眾四坐。 竝真人菩薩。 見泰山府君來作禮。 泰問吏人。 吏曰。 名佛天上天下度人之師。 便聞佛云。 言令欲慈度此惡道中及諸地獄中人皆令出聽。 時云有百萬九千人。 一時得出地獄即空。 徙著百里城中。 其在此中者。 皆奉法弟子。 當過福舍七日隨行。 所作功德有少有無者。 又見呼十人當上生天。 有車馬侍從迎之昇虛空而去。 出復見一城云縱廣二百餘里。 名為吏受變形城。 云生時未聞道法。 而地獄考治已畢者。 當於此城更受變報。 入此門見當有數千萬土屋有坊巷。 中央有大瓦屋。 當廣五十餘步。 屋下有五百餘吏。 對收人名。 作善惡者行狀受所變身形之路。 各從其所趣而去。 殺生者云。 當作蜉蝣蟲朝生夕死。 若出為人常當短命。 偷盜者作猪羊身屠肉償人婬逸者作鴿驁蛇身。 兩舌者作鵄鵂䲮鴪。 惡聲人聞皆呪令死。 抵債者為驢騾馬牛魚鼈之屬。 大屋下有地戶北向一戶南向。 呼從北戶入出南戶者。 皆變身形作鳥獸。 又見一城縱廣百里。 其中瓦屋安居快樂。 云生時不作惡行。 不見天道亦不受罪。 名為鬼城。 手歲得出為人。 又見一城廣五千餘步。 名為地獄。 中罰謫者不堪苦痛。 還歸索一代家為解謫。 皆在此城中。 男女五六十萬。 皆裸形無服。 飢困相扶。 見泰叩頭啼哭。 泰問吏。 天道地獄道門相去幾里。 曰天道地獄道門相對案行匝還。 主者問。 地獄如法不。 卿無罪故相使為水官都督。 不爾與地獄中人無異。 泰問人死何者為樂。 主者言。 唯佛弟子精進不犯禁戒為樂耳。 又未奉佛時罪過山積。 今奉法其過得除不。 曰皆除。 主者召都錄使者問。 趙文和何故死來。 使開縢視年紀之籍。 有餘算三十年。 橫為惡鬼所取。 今遣還家。 由是大小發意奉佛。 為祖父母及二第。 懸幡蓋作福會也）王坦懷疑契死為驗（續搜神記云。 沙門竺法度者。 先與比中中郎將王坦之友善。 每共論生死罪福報應之事。 茫昧難明未審有無。 便共為要。 若先無常其神有知。 及罪福決定者。 當相報語。 王坦後在都忽見師來。 王便驚云。 上人何處來。 答曰。 貧道以某日月命過。 罪福皆不虛。 事若影響。 檀越但當勤修道德以昇濟神明耳。 先與君要故來相語。 言訖而不見耳）五級未就臨刑刃斷（滎陽高苟年已五十。 為殺人被收鎖項地牢。 分意必死。 同牢人云。 努力共誦觀世音。 苟云。 我罪至重甘心受死。 何由可免。 同禁勸之。 因始發心。 誓當捨惡行善。 專念觀音不簡造次。 若得免脫。 願起五層佛圖。 捨身作奴供養眾僧。 旬月用心鉗鎖自解。 監司驚怪語高苟云。 佛神憐汝斬應不死。 臨刑之日舉刀未下。 刀折刃斷奏得原免。 出宣驗記也及續搜神記）一鵝將戮得夢形全（宋吳興太守瑯瑘王襲之。 有學問愛老莊而不信佛。 唯事宰殺。 為先初為晉西省郎中。 至好賓客。 於內省所養一雙鵝。 甚愛翫之。 以為得性。 夜忽夢。 鵝口銜一卷書。 可十許紙。 取看皆說罪福之事。 明旦果見乃是佛經。 因遂不殺。

[He thought] he must return to search for a substitute. Later, he was transferred to become Commander of the Water Bureau, having overall charge of matters concerning the various hells, and was provided with horses and soldiers. Heading east, he arrived at the hells on an inspection tour. Next, he arrived at the Niraya hell. There were five to six thousand men and women. There was a great tree, more than fifty paces wide and a thousand zhang high, with swords on all four sides. The people above were hung on the tree and set on fire; below, they fell in groups of ten or fifteen upon the flaming swords, which pierced their bodies. It was said that these people had cursed and reviled others, seized others' property, and harmed the good and kind. He saw Tai's parents and two younger brothers in this hell, weeping bitterly. He saw two men arrive carrying documents, who commanded the hell wardens, saying: 'There are three people whose families serve the Buddha; on their behalf, they have hung banners and burned incense in monasteries, making vows and prayers to rescue and absolve them of their sins committed while alive. Let them go forth to the House of Merit!' They had already seen natural clothing appear, and proceeded directly to a gate called the Great House of Opening Light. It had three tiers of black gates, all with white jade disks and red pillars. These three people thereupon entered through the gate and saw a great hall, its rare jewels dazzling to the eyes. In the hall, two lions lay together, looking back and supporting a gold-and-jade couch, which was called the Lion Throne. He saw a person whose body was about sixteen feet tall, with a golden visage and a halo of sunlight behind the nape of his neck, seated upon this throne. Many śramaṇas stood in attendance around him, and seated on the four sides were all realized beings and bodhisattvas. He saw the Lord of Mount Tai come and pay homage. Tai asked an official, and the official said: 'He is called the Buddha, the teacher who delivers people in the heavens above and under heaven.' Thereupon, he heard the Buddha say that he wished to deliver with compassion those in these evil destinies and the various hells, letting them all come forth to listen. At that time, it was said there were one million and nine thousand people; all at once, they were able to leave, and the hells were immediately emptied. They were relocated to a city a hundred li across. Those who were in this city were all disciples who upheld the Dharma; they were to pass through the House of Merit for seven days in accordance with their conduct, depending on whether the merit they had produced was little or none. He also saw ten people called forward who were to be reborn in heaven; carriages, horses, and attendants came to welcome them, and they ascended into empty space and departed. Going out, he again saw a city, said to be more than two hundred li across, named the City where Officials Receive Metamorphoses. It was said that those who during life had not heard the teachings of the Dao, but whose interrogations and punishments in the hells were completed, would receive retribution in altered forms in this city. Entering this gate, he saw that there must have been tens of millions of earthen houses arranged in wards and alleys. In the center was a large tiled house, about fifty paces wide. Under the house were more than five hundred officials taking down the names of people, recording the conduct and deeds of those who did good or evil, and directing them along the roads for receiving the bodily forms into which they would transform. Each went forth in accordance with their destination. For those who killed living beings, it was said: 'They shall become ephemeras, born at dawn and dead at dusk; if born as humans, they shall always have short lives.' Those who stole took the bodies of pigs and sheep, their slaughtered meat repaying others. Those who were lustful took the bodies of pigeons, hawks, or snakes. Those who were double-tongued became collared scops-owls and horned owls, whose screeching sounds make all who hear them curse them to death. Those who defaulted on debts became donkeys, mules, horses, oxen, fish, softshell turtles, and the like. Beneath the great house was an earthen door facing north and a door facing south; those called to enter from the north door and exit from the south door all had their forms transformed into birds and beasts. He also saw a city a hundred li across, in which there were tiled houses where beings dwelt peacefully and happily. It was said that in life they had performed no evil deeds, yet having not seen the heavenly path, they also received no punishment; this was called the City of Ghosts. After a fixed number of years, they could come forth and become humans. He also saw another city, more than five thousand paces wide, called Hell, wherein those undergoing penal punishment could not endure the bitter pain; they returned to search for someone of their generation from their families to resolve their punishments. They were all in this city, five to six hundred thousand men and women, all naked without clothing, starving and distressed, supporting one another. Seeing Tai, they kowtowed and wailed. Tai asked the officials: 'How many li apart are the gates to the heavenly destiny and the hell destiny?' The official replied: 'The gates of the heavenly destiny and the hell destiny face each other.' When the inspection tour was completed and he returned, the Master asked: 'Are the hells in accordance with the law? Because you have no sin, you were employed as Commander of the Water Bureau; otherwise, you would be no different from the people in the hells.' Tai asked: 'When people die, what brings joy?' The Master said: 'Only for disciples of the Buddha who are diligent and do not violate the prohibitory precepts is there joy.' [Tai] also asked: 'If before venerating the Buddha one's sins accumulated like mountains, but now one upholds the Dharma, can those faults be eliminated?' The Master replied: 'They are all eliminated.' The Master summoned the Record-Chief Envoy and asked: 'Why has Zhao Wenhe died and come here?' The envoy was made to unroll and inspect the registers of age, which showed an excess count of thirty years; he had been wrongly seized by evil ghosts. Now he was sent back home. Because of this, both old and young resolved to venerate the Buddha, hanging banners and canopies and holding assemblies of merit on behalf of their grandparents and two younger brothers.) Wang Tan harbored doubts, but made an agreement about death as proof. (The Xu soushen ji states: The śramaṇa Zhu Fadu was formerly a close friend of the Palace Leader of the Gentlemen of the Household of the Imperial Chancellery Wang Tanzhi. They often discussed matters of birth, death, sin, merit, and karmic retribution, but finding them dim, obscure, and difficult to comprehend, they were unsure whether such things existed or not. Thereupon, they made an agreement: 'If one passes away first and one's spirit retains consciousness, and if sin and merit are indeed determined, one must return to inform the other.' Later, while Wang Tan was in the capital, he suddenly saw the Master arrive. Startled, Wang said: 'Where has the Superior One come from?' He replied: 'I, an impoverished monk, passed away on such-and-such a month and day. Sin and merit are indeed not false; these matters are like shadows and echoes. The dānapati should simply cultivate the virtues of the Dao diligently in order to elevate and deliver his spiritual consciousness. Because I made an agreement with you previously, I have come to inform you.' As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished.) Before five stories were finished, at the execution ground the blade shattered. (Gao Gou of Xingyang was already fifty years old. Because of a murder, he was arrested and chained by the neck in an underground dungeon. Expecting certain death, a fellow prisoner in the dungeon told him: 'Strive together with me to recite [the name of] Avalokiteśvara!' Gou said: 'My sin is of the utmost gravity; I am resigned to death. How could I possibly be spared?' His fellow prisoner urged him on. Thereupon, he first generated the aspiration, vowing: 'I shall cast aside evil and practice good, single-mindedly mindful of Avalokiteśvara without negligence or haste. If I obtain release, I vow to erect a five-story Buddha stupa and give up my body to be a slave in service to the monastic assembly.' Within a month of applying his mind, the fetters and shackles unlocked themselves. The supervisory officials, astonished and perplexed, told Gao Gou: 'The divine spirit of the Buddha has pitied you; when you are decapitated, you surely will not die.' On the day of execution, the sword was raised but before it came down, the sword broke and the blade shattered. A memorial was presented, and he obtained a pardon. This comes from the Xuan yan ji and the Xu soushen ji.) When a goose was about to be slaughtered, a dream preserved its form whole. (Wang Xizhi of Langya, Grand Administrator of Wuxing under the Song, was learned, loved Laozi and Zhuangzi, but did not believe in Buddhism, engaging solely in slaughter. Earlier, when he was first an Attendant Gentleman in the Western Department of the Jin, he was exceedingly fond of guests. In the inner department, he raised a pair of geese, loving and playing with them exceedingly, considering them to have attained their natural disposition. Suddenly one night he dreamed that a goose held in its mouth a scroll of text, about ten or so sheets. Taking and reading it, it completely expounded matters of sin and merit. The next morning, it was indeed seen and turned out to be a Buddhist sūtra. Consequently, he never slaughtered again.)