法苑珠林 56.21

56.21

晉李常。字元文。譙國人。少時有一沙門。造常謂曰。君福報將至。而復對來隨之。君能守貧修道不仕宦者。福增對滅。君其勉之。常性躁又寒門。但問仕宦當何所至了不尋究修道意也。與一卷經。常不肯取。又固問榮途貴賤何如。沙門曰。當帶金紫極於三郡。若能於一郡止者亦為善也。常曰。且當富貴。何顧後患因留宿。常夜起見沙門。身滿一床。入呼家人。大小𨶳視。復變為大鳥跱屋梁上。天曉復形而去。常送出門忽不復見。知是神人。因此事佛而亦不能精。至後為西陽江夏廬江太守加龍驤將軍大興中預錢鳳之亂被誅（右一驗出冥祥記）。

During the Jin dynasty, Li Chang, whose courtesy name was Yuanwen, was a native of the commandery of Qiao. When he was young, a śramaṇa came to visit Chang and said to him: 'The retribution of your good fortune is about to arrive, yet a retribution for your debts follows in its wake. If you can maintain poverty, cultivate the Way, and not serve as an official, your good fortune will increase and your debts will be extinguished. You should exert yourself!' Chang was by nature impatient and moreover came from a poor family. He only asked how high he would reach in official service, completely failing to investigate the meaning of cultivating the Way. [The śramaṇa] offered him a scroll of scripture, but Chang refused to accept it. He also persistently asked what his glory, lowly rank, or nobility along the path would be. The śramaṇa said: 'You will wear the gold [seal] and purple [ribbon], reaching your peak across three commanderies. If you can stop at one commandery, that too would be good.' Chang said: 'For now I must have wealth and nobility; why look back at later troubles?' Thereupon he had [the śramaṇa] stay for the night. In the night Chang got up and saw that the śramaṇa's body filled the entire bed. He went in to call his household, and old and young came to peek. [The śramaṇa] then transformed into a great bird perched on the roof beam. At dawn he resumed his form and departed. Chang escorted him out the gate, and suddenly he was seen no more. He knew he was a divine person. Because of this, he served the Buddha, yet he could not be devoted. Later, he served as the grand administrator of Xiyang, Jiangxia, and Lujiang, was appointed General of the Soaring Dragon, and during the Daxing reign era he was implicated in Qian Feng's rebellion and executed. (The one verification above is from the Mingxiang ji.)