法苑珠林 28.27

28.27

晉沙門佛調。不知何國人。往來常山積年。業尚純朴不表辭飾。時咸以此重之。常山有奉法者兄弟二人。居去寺百里。兄嫂病甚篤。載出寺側以近醫藥。兄既奉調為師。朝晝常在寺中諮詢行道。異日調忽往其家。弟具問嫂所苦。并審兄安否。調曰。病者粗可。卿兄如常。調去後弟亦策馬繼往。言及調旦來。兄驚曰。和尚旦初不出寺。汝何容相見。兄弟爭問調。調笑而不答。咸共異焉。調或獨入深山一年餘半齎乾飯數斗。還常有餘。有人常隨調山行。數十里天暮大雪。調入石穴虎窟中宿。虎還橫臥窟前。調語曰。我奪汝居處有愧如何。虎弭耳下山。隨者駭懼。調自剋亡期。遠近悉至。乃興訣曰。天地長久尚有崩壞。豈況人物而欲永存。若能盪除三垢專心真淨。形數雖乖而神會必同。眾咸洟流。調還房端坐。以衣蒙頭奄然而終。終後數年。調白衣弟子八人入西山伐材。忽見調在高巖上。衣服鮮明姿儀暢悅。皆驚喜作禮問。和上尚在此耶。答曰。吾常自在耳。具問知故消息。良久乃去。八人便捨事還家向同法者說。眾無以驗之。共發塚開棺不見其屍。

The Jin śramaṇa Fotiao was of unknown homeland. He came and went from Changshan for many years. In his conduct he was pure and simple, unaffected by rhetorical ornament, and the people of the time all esteemed him for this. In Changshan there were two brothers who were devotees of the Dharma. They lived a hundred li from the temple. The elder brother's wife fell gravely ill, and they brought her in a cart to stay beside the temple so she would be close to medicine and doctors. As the elder brother revered Fotiao as his master, he spent morning and afternoon in the temple, asking counsel and practicing the Way. One day, Fotiao suddenly went to their home. The younger brother asked in detail about his sister-in-law's suffering and also enquired after his elder brother's well-being. Fotiao said, 'The invalid is somewhat better, and your brother is as usual.' After Fotiao left, the younger brother also mounted a horse and followed on to the temple. When he mentioned that Fotiao had visited that morning, the elder brother was shocked and said, 'The Master has not left the temple at all this morning. How could you have seen each other?' The brothers both questioned Fotiao, but Fotiao smiled and did not answer, so they all marveled at it. Fotiao would sometimes go alone into the deep mountains for over half a year, carrying only several pecks of dried provisions, and when he returned there was always food left over. A man once accompanied Fotiao on a journey through the mountains. After several tens of li, night fell and it snowed heavily. Fotiao entered a stone grotto, which was a tiger's den, to spend the night. The tiger returned and lay across the front of the cave. Fotiao addressed it, saying, 'I have taken your dwelling, and feel ashamed—what shall we do?' The tiger drooped its ears and walked down the mountain. The man who had followed him was terrified. Fotiao foresaw the time of his own death, and people from near and far all arrived. He then pronounced his farewell: 'Heaven and earth, long as they endure, still face decay and ruin; how much more so people and things—how could they remain forever? If one can purge the three taints and focus one's mind upon true purity, though bodily appearances may differ, their spiritual meeting will surely be the same.' The assembly all shed tears. Fotiao returned to his cell, sat upright, covered his head with his robes, and passed away quietly. Several years after his death, eight of Fotiao's lay disciples went into the western mountains to gather timber. Suddenly they saw Fotiao upon a high cliff, his clothes bright and clean, his countenance joyous and relaxed. In joyful surprise they made prostrations and asked, 'Master, are you still here?' He answered, 'I am always at ease.' He questioned them in detail about news of old acquaintances, and after a good while he departed. The eight men abandoned their task, returned home, and told their fellow practitioners. As the assembly had no way to verify this, they dug up the grave together and opened the coffin, but did not find his corpse.