辯正論 7.4.2

7.4.2

[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.)