[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [法苑珠林](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122) › 18.8 # 法苑珠林 18.8 法苑珠林 18.8 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [18.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.18.8) 晉董吉者。於潛人也。奉法三世至吉尤精進。常齋戒誦首楞嚴經。村中有病輒請吉讀經。所救多愈。同縣何晃者。亦奉法士也。咸和中卒得山毒之病守困。晃兄惶遽馳往請吉。董何二舍相去六七十里。復隔大溪。五月中大雨。晃兄初渡時。水尚未至。吉與期投。中食比往。而山水暴漲不復可涉。吉不能泅遲迴歎息。坐岸良久欲下不敢渡。吉既信直必欲赴期。乃惻然發心自誓曰。吾救人苦急不計軀命。剋冀如來大士當照乃誠。便脫衣以囊經戴置頭上。徑入水中量其深淺。乃應至頸。及吉渡政著膝耳。既得上岸失囊經。甚惋恨進至晃家。三禮懺悔流涕自責。俛仰之間便見經囊在高座上。吉悲喜取看浥浥如有濕氣。開囊視經尚燥如故。於是村人一時奉法。吉所西北有一山高嶮。中多妖魅犯害居民。吉以經戒之力欲伐降之。於山際四五畝地。手伐林木構造小屋。安設高座轉首楞嚴經。百餘日中寂然無聞。民害稍止。後有數人至吉所語言良久。吉思惟此客言者非於潛人。窮山幽絕何因而來。疑是鬼神。乃謂之曰。諸君得無是此中鬼耶。答曰。是也。聞君德行清肅故來相觀。并請一事想必見聽。吾世有此山游居所託。君既來止慮相逆冒。常懷不安。今欲更作界分。當殺樹為斷。吉曰。僕貪此寂靜讀誦經典。不相干犯。方為卿比願見祐助。鬼答。亦復憑君不見侵剋也。言畢而去。經一宿前所芟地。四際之外樹皆枯死如火燒狀。吉年八十七亡。 > Dong Ji of the Jin was a native of Yuqian. His family had revered the Dharma for three generations, and with Ji they became especially vigorous. He regularly kept the dietary purifications and chanted the Śūraṅgama-sūtra. Whenever anyone in the village fell ill, they would invite Ji to recite the scripture, and most of those he sought to save recovered. He Huang of the same county was also a gentleman who revered the Dharma. During the Xianhe era, he suddenly contracted a toxic mountain illness and was critically afflicted. Huang's elder brother hurriedly galloped over to invite Ji. The two dwellings of Dong and He were sixty or seventy li apart, separated also by a large torrent. In the fifth month, there were heavy rains. When Huang's brother first crossed, the flood had not yet arrived. Ji agreed to arrive by midday. By the time he went, the mountain waters had surged violently and were no longer fordable. Ji could not swim; he hesitated and sighed, sitting on the bank for a long while, wishing to wade in but not daring to cross. Being trustworthy and upright, Ji was determined to make the appointment. Feeling deep compassion, he made a vow, saying: 'To rescue someone in urgent distress, I do not consider my own body or life. I rely on the expectation that the Tathāgata and Mahāsattvas will illumine this sincerity of mine.' He then stripped off his clothes, placed the bagged scripture upon his head, and stepped straight into the water. Judging its depth, it should have reached his neck, but when Ji crossed, it was merely up to his knees. After reaching the bank, he lost the scripture bag. Deeply lamenting, he proceeded to Huang's house, made three prostrations of repentance, and wept in self-reproach. In the blink of an eye, he saw the scripture bag on the high seat. With mixed sorrow and joy, Ji picked it up and inspected it; it was damp as though with moisture, but when he opened the bag to examine the scripture, it was still dry as before. Thereupon the villagers all revered the Dharma at once. To the northwest of Ji's dwelling was a high and precipitous mountain, wherein were many spirits and spectres that harmed the residents. Relying on the power of the scriptures and precepts, Ji wished to subdue them. On four or five mu of land at the mountain's edge, he cleared the trees with his own hands, constructed a small hut, installed a high seat, and recited the Śūraṅgama-sūtra. For over a hundred days, there was complete silence, and the harm to the people gradually ceased. Later, several men came to Ji's place and spoke with him for a long time. Ji reflected that the speech of these visitors was not that of Yuqian people; how could they have come to such remote and secluded mountains? Suspecting they were ghosts or spirits, he said to them: 'Could you gentlemen be the spirits of this place?' They replied: 'Indeed we are. Hearing of your pure and solemn virtue, we have come to observe you, and also to ask one thing, which we imagine you will certainly grant. We have held this mountain for generations as our dwelling place. Since you came to reside here, we feared there might be conflict, and have constantly harboured unease. Now we wish to establish a new boundary; we shall kill trees to mark the division.' Ji said: 'I covet this quietude to chant the scriptures, and have no wish to infringe upon you. Being your neighbor, I hope for your assistance.' The spirits replied: 'We likewise rely on you not to encroach upon us.' When their words ended, they departed. After one night, outside the four borders of the land he had previously cleared, the trees were all withered and dead, looking as if scorched by fire. Ji died at the age of eighty-seven. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 18.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.18.7) - [Next: 18.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.18.9) - [Up: 18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.18) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122~en-mt.18.8) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.18.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.18.8) · Pramāṇa