法苑珠林 51.69

51.69

魏涼州釋僧朗。魏虜攻涼州。城民少。逼僧上城。舉城同陷。收登城僧三千人。王軍將至魏主所。謂曰。道人當坐禪行道。乃復作賊登城。罪極刑戮。明日當殺。至期食時。赤氣數丈貫日直度。天師寇謙之為帝所信。奏曰。上天降異正為道人。實非本心。官抑令上。願不須殺。帝遂放之。猶散配役徒。唯朗等數僧別付帳下。從駕東歸。及魏軍東還。朗與同學思慕本鄉。中路共叛。然嚴防守更無走處。東西絕壁莫測淺深。上有大樹傍垂岸側。遂以鼓旗竿繩繫樹懸下。時夜大暗。崖底純棘無安足處。欲上崖頭復恐軍覺。投計慞惶捉繩懸住。勢非及久。共相謂曰。今厄頓至。唯念觀音。以頭扣石一心專注。須臾光明從日處出通照天地。乃見棘中有得下處。因光至地還忽冥暗。方知聖力非關天明。相慶感遇便泰稍眠。良久天曉。始聞軍眾警角將發。而山谷重疊裵回萬里。不知出路。候月而行。路值大虎出在其前。相顧而言。雖免虜難虎口難脫。朗語僧曰。不如君言。正以我等有感所以現光。今遇此虎。將非聖人示吾路耶。於是二人徑詣虎所。虎即前行。若朗小遲虎亦暫住。至曉得出。而失虎蹤。便隨道自進。至于七日達於仇池。又至涼漢出于荊州。不測所終。

Shi Senglang of Liangzhou in the Wei: When the northern Wei forces attacked Liangzhou, the city's inhabitants were few, and they forced the monks to mount the city walls. The entire city fell. Three thousand monks who had mounted the walls were captured. The army commander brought them before the Wei emperor and said: ‘Clerics ought to sit in meditation and practice the Path, yet you acted as rebels and mounted the walls! Your crime warrants capital punishment; tomorrow you shall be executed.’ When the time of the morning meal arrived, a red vapour several tens of feet long passed straight through the sun. The Celestial Master Kou Qianzhi, who was trusted by the emperor, presented a memorial saying: ‘Heaven has sent down this anomaly precisely on account of the clerics. It was truly not their original intent; the officials forced them up. May Your Majesty spare them from execution.’ The emperor then released them, but dispersed and assigned them to labor squads; only Senglang and several other monks were assigned separately to his headquarters to accompany the imperial carriage back east. When the Wei army returned east, Senglang and his fellow student yearned for their native land and rebelled together midway. However, the guard was strict, and there was nowhere else to flee. To the east and west were sheer cliffs of unfathomable depth. Above, a large tree hung over the edge of the cliff; they tied a drum-banner pole rope to the tree and suspended themselves down. The night was pitch-dark, and the bottom of the cliff was completely covered in thorns with nowhere to set foot. If they wished to climb back to the top of the cliff, they feared the army would discover them. At a loss for a plan, they clung to the rope in suspense; their strength could not last long. They said to each other: ‘Extreme peril has arrived all at once; let us only contemplate Avalokiteśvara.’ Striking their heads against the rock, they concentrated single-mindedly. In a moment, a brilliant light emerged from the direction of the sun, illuminating heaven and earth. They then saw a place to land among the thorns. Following the light they reached the ground, and suddenly darkness returned. Only then did they know that this was the power of the Sage and had nothing to do with the break of day. Rejoicing at this sympathetic response, they were relieved and slept a little. After a long while, dawn broke. They only then heard the warning horns of the army preparing to depart. But the mountains and valleys were layered and stretched for thousands of li, and they did not know the way out. Waiting for the moon, they set out. On the road they encountered a large tiger appearing before them. Looking at each other, they said: ‘Though we escaped the northern soldiers’ peril, it is hard to escape the tiger's jaws.’ Lang said to the monk: ‘It is not as you say. Precisely because we had a response, the light appeared. In meeting this tiger now, might the Sage not be showing us the way?’ Thereupon the two went straight toward the tiger. The tiger then walked ahead. When Lang lagged a little, the tiger also paused. By dawn they got out, and the tiger's tracks disappeared. They then proceeded along the path. After seven days they reached Chouzhi, and having passed through Liang and the Han River, emerged in Jingzhou. Where he ended his life is unknown.