法苑珠林 26.38

26.38

隋開皇中。魏州刺史博陵崔彥武。因行部至一邑。愕然驚喜。謂從者曰。吾昔嘗在此邑中為人婦。今知家處。因乘馬入。循巷屈曲至一家。命叩門。主人公年老。走出拜謁。彥武入家。先昇其堂。視東壁上。去地六七尺有高隆處客謂主人曰。吾昔所讀法華經。并金釵五隻藏此壁中。經函是也。其經第七卷尾後紙火燒失文字。吾今每誦此經。至第七卷尾常忘失不能記得。因令左右鑿壁。果得經函。開第七卷尾。及金釵並如其言。主人洟泣曰。己妻存日常誦此經。釵亦是其處。彥武指庭前槐樹吾欲產時。自解頭髮置此樹空中。試令人探樹中果得髮。於是主人悲喜。彥留衣物厚給主人而去。崔尚書敦禮說云。然往年見盧文勵。說亦大同。但言齊州刺史不得姓名。未如崔具故依崔錄（右一驗出冥報記）。

During the Kaihuang era of the Sui dynasty, Cui Yanwu of Boling was the regional inspector of Weizhou. When on an inspection tour he reached a certain village, he was astounded and overjoyed, and said to his attendants, "In a former life I was a wife in this village. Now I recognize where my home was." He then rode his horse in, following the winding alleys until he came to a house, and ordered [someone] to knock on the gate. The master of the house was aged; he hurried out and bowed in greeting. Yanwu entered the house and first went up into the hall. Looking at the eastern wall, six or seven feet from the ground, there was a raised protrusion. The guest said to the master, "The Lotus Sūtra that I used to recite in former days, along with five gold hairpins, are hidden inside this wall, and the sūtra case is there. The text on the last sheet at the end of the seventh roll of that sūtra was burned away by fire. Even now, whenever I recite this sūtra, upon reaching the end of the seventh roll I constantly forget it and cannot remember it." He then had his attendants breach the wall, and indeed they found the sūtra case. When they opened the end of the seventh roll, it, along with the gold hairpins, was entirely as he had said. The master wept and said, "When my wife was alive, she constantly recited this sūtra. The hairpins were also in that place." Yanwu pointed to a locust tree before the courtyard: "When I was about to give birth, I loosened my hair myself and placed it in the hollow of this tree." When they had someone search the tree, they indeed found the hair. Thereupon the master felt sorrow and joy. Yanwu left clothing and goods, generously providing for the master, and departed. Minister Cui Dunli related: "Indeed, years ago I saw Lu Wenli, whose account was mostly the same, only saying it was the regional inspector of Qizhou without getting his name. It was not as complete as Cui's, and thus I have followed Cui's record." (This one piece of evidence is from the Mingbao ji.)