法苑珠林 38.60

38.60

岐州岐山縣華陽鄉王莊村有人。姓馮名玄嗣。先來麁獷殊不信敬。母兄承舍利從東都來將欲藏揜。嗣不許往。母兄不用其語至舍利所禮拜還家。玄嗣怒曰。此有何驗而往禮之。若舍利有功德者。我家中佛像亦有功德。即取佛像燒之。竟有何驗。母兄救之。已燒下半玄嗣忽倒不覺暴死。經三日始活。說云。忽到一處似是地獄。有大鳥飛來啄睛噉舌入大火坑。燒烙困苦覺身癢悶。以手摩面眉髮隨落。目看大地全無精光。親屬傍看皆知罪驗。諸人語曰。汝自造罪無可代者。玄嗣神識不與人同。但曰。火燒我心。以取道士之語。教吾不信。謗佛之罪。今殃著身。東西馳走又被打拍。怕懼號哭。但惟叩頭彈指懺悔乞命。而晝夜號走不曾暫住。至二月十三日。親屬哀愍請僧懺悔乞願造像。又將至塔所。于時京邑大德極多。時行虔法師為眾說法。裴尚宮比丘尼等數百俗人士女。向有萬人。咸見玄嗣五體投地對舍利前號哭自撲至誠懺悔不信之罪。又懺犯尼淨行打罵眾僧盜食僧果。自懺已後眠夢稍安。大患仍自不差。未經一年方死。

In Wangzhuang Village, Huayang Township, Qishan County, Qizhou, there was a man named Feng Xuansi. Formerly crude and violent, he had no faith or reverence. When his mother and elder brother heard that the śarīra had arrived from the Eastern Capital and was about to be interred, Xuansi would not allow them to go. His mother and elder brother did not heed his words, went to the place of the śarīra to pay homage, and returned home. Xuansi said angrily: 'What efficacy is there in this that you went to pay homage? If the śarīra possesses merit, the Buddha image in my house also possesses merit.' He immediately took the Buddha image and burned it, [saying]: 'What efficacy does it have in the end?' His mother and elder brother tried to rescue it, but the lower half was already burned. Xuansi suddenly collapsed and unexpectedly died suddenly. After three days he revived, saying: 'Suddenly I reached a place that seemed to be hell. Huge birds flew down to peck out my eyes and eat my tongue, and I entered a great fire pit. Tortured by burning and searing, my body felt itchy and suffocated. When I rubbed my face with my hands, my eyebrows and hair fell off with it; looking at the earth, my eyes had completely lost their clear vision.' The relatives watching at his side all knew this was the proof of his transgression. People said to him: 'You committed the sin yourself; none can substitute for you.' Xuansi's consciousness was unlike that of an ordinary person; he merely said: 'Fire burns my heart! Because I adopted the words of Daoists, they taught me not to believe. The sin of slandering the Buddha now brings disaster upon my body.' Running east and west, he was also beaten, and cried out in terror. He only kowtowed, snapped his fingers, repented, and begged for his life, yet day and night he wailed and ran without pausing for a moment. On the thirteenth day of the second month, his relatives took pity on him, invited monks to perform repentance, vowed to make statues, and brought him to the stupa site. At that time, venerable elders in the capital were exceedingly numerous. Dharma Master Xingqian was expounding the Dharma for the assembly. Bhikṣuṇī Pei Shanggong and several hundred others, along with lay men and women numbering nearly ten thousand, all saw Xuansi prostrate all five limbs before the śarīra, wailing, throwing himself down, and with utmost sincerity repenting his sin of disbelief. He also repented transgressing against the pure practice of nuns, beating and scolding monks, and stealing and eating the monks' fruit. After he repented, his sleep and dreams were slightly more peaceful, yet his severe illness still did not recover. Before a year had passed, he finally died.