法苑珠林 26.40

26.40

唐汾州隰城人劉善經。少小孤母所撫育。其母平生常習讀內典精勤苦行。以貞觀二十一年亡。善經哀毀過禮。哭聲不輟。至明年善經恍惚之間見其母曰。我為生時修福得受男身。今生於此縣南石趙村宋家。汝欲相見可即至彼也。言終不見。善經如言而往不移時而至彼。於是日宋家生男。善經因奉衣物具言由委。此男見在。善經常以母禮事之。隰州沙門善撫與善經舊知。見善經及鄉人所說。為餘令言之。

Liu Shanqing of Xicheng in Fenzhou during the Tang dynasty was orphaned at an early age and reared by his mother. Throughout her life, his mother had constantly practiced and read the Buddhist scriptures with energetic diligence and ascetic discipline. In the twenty-first year of Zhenguan, she passed away. Shanqing was emaciated with grief beyond what the rites required, weeping without cease. The following year, in a trance, Shanqing saw his mother, who said, "Because of cultivating merit during my lifetime, I have obtained a male body. I am now born in the Song household in Shizhao Village to the south of this county. If you wish to see me, you may go there at once." When she finished speaking, she disappeared. Shanqing went as she had said, arriving there in no time. On that day, a boy was born into the Song household. Shanqing then offered clothing and goods, recounting the circumstances in full. This boy is currently alive, and Shanqing constantly serves him with the rites due to a mother. Śramaṇa Shanfu of Xizhou was an old acquaintance of Shanqing; seeing what Shanqing and the villagers said, he recounted it for me.