法苑珠林 61.9

61.9

晉鄴中有竺佛圖澄者。西域人也。本姓帛氏。少出家清貞務學。誦經數百萬言。善解文義。雖未讀此土儒史。而與諸學士論辯疑滯。皆暗若符契。無能屈者。自云。再到罽賓受講名師西域咸稱得道者。以晉懷帝永嘉四年來適雒陽。志弘大法。善誦神呪。能役使鬼物。以麻油雜𫂾脂塗掌。千里外事皆徹見掌中如對面焉。亦能令潔齋者同見。又聽鈴音以言事。無不効驗。迺潛澤草野以觀世變。時石勒屯兵葛陂。專以殺戮為威。沙門遇害甚眾。澄憫念蒼生。欲以道化勒。於是杖策到軍門。勒大將郭黑略素奉法。澄即投止略家。從受五戒。崇弟子之禮。勒召澄問曰。佛道有何靈驗。澄知勒不達深理。正可以道術為徵。因而言曰。至道雖遠亦可以近事為證。即取應器盛水。燒香呪之。須臾生青蓮華。光色曜目。勒由此信服。澄因而諫曰。夫王者德化洽於宇內。則四靈表瑞。政弊道消。則彗孛現於上。常象著見。休咎隨行。斯迺古今之常徵。天人之明誡。勒甚悅之。凡應被誅殘。蒙其益者。十有八九。勒後因忿欲害諸道士。并欲苦澄。澄迺避至黑略舍。告弟子曰。若將軍信至問吾所在者。報云。不知所之。信人尋至覓澄不得。使還報勒。勒驚曰。吾有惡意向聖人。聖人捨我去矣。通夜不寢思欲見澄。知勒意悔。明旦告勒。勒曰。昨夜何行。澄曰。公有怒心昨夜故權避。公今改意是以敢來。勒大笑曰。道人謬耳。襄國城塹水源在城西北五里汍瀾祀下。其水暴竭。勒問澄曰。何以致水。澄曰。今當勅龍。勒字世龍。謂澄嘲己。答曰。正以龍不能致水。故相問耳。澄曰。此誠言非戲也。水泉之源。必有神龍居之。今往勅語水必可得。迺與弟子法首等數人至泉源上。其源故處久已乾燥坼如車轍。從者心疑恐水難得。澄坐繩床燒安息香呪願數百言。如此三日水忽然微流。有一小龍。長五六寸許。隨水來出。諸道士競往視之。澄曰。龍有毒氣勿臨其上。有頃水大至。隍塹皆滿。澄預記萌兆。難可述盡。勒登位已後。事澄彌篤。時石葱將叛。其年澄誡勒曰。今年葱中有蟲食必害人。可令百姓無食葱也。勒頒告境內慎無食葱。到八月石葱果走。勒益加尊重。有事必諮而後行。號大和尚。石虎有子名斌。後為勒兒愛之甚重。忽暴病而亡。已涉二日。勒曰。朕聞虢太子死扁鵲能生。大和尚國之神人。可急往告。必能致福。澄迺取楊枝呪之。須臾能起。有頃平復。由是勒諸稚子多在佛寺中養之。每至四月八日。勒躬自詣寺灌佛。為兒發願。至建平四年四月。天靜無風而塔上一鈴獨鳴。澄謂眾曰。鈴音云。國有大喪不出今年矣。是歲七月勒死。子弘襲位。少時虎廢弘自立。遷都于鄴。稱元建武。傾心事澄有重於勒。迺下書曰。和尚國之大寶。榮爵不加高祿不受。榮祿匪傾何以旌德。從此已往宜衣以綾錦乘以雕輦。朝會之日和尚昇殿。常侍以下悉助舉輿。太子諸公扶翼而上。主者唱大和尚至。眾坐皆起以彰其尊。又勅偽司空李農。旦夕親問。太子諸公五日一朝表朕敬焉。時澄止鄴城內中寺。遣弟子法常。北至襄國。弟子法佐從襄國還。相遇在梁基城下共宿。對車夜談。言及和尚。比旦各去。法佐至始入覲澄。澄逆笑曰。昨夜與法常交車共說汝師耶。先民有言。不曰敬乎。幽而不改。不曰慎乎。獨而不怠。幽獨者敬慎之本。爾不識乎。佐愕然愧懺。於是國人每共相語曰。莫起惡心。和尚知汝。及澄之所在。無敢向其面洟唾便利者。時太子石邃有二子在襄國。澄語邃曰。小阿彌比當得疾。可往迎之。邃即馳信往視。果已得病。大醫殷騰及外國道士。自言能治。澄告弟子法牙曰。正使聖人復出。不愈此病。況此等乎。後三日果死。後晉軍出淮泗。壟北瓦城皆被侵逼。三方告急人情危擾。虎乃瞋曰。吾之奉佛供僧。而更致外寇。佛無神矣。澄明旦早入。虎以事問澄。澄因諫虎曰王。過去世經為大商主。至罽賓寺嘗供大會。中有六十羅漢。吾此微身亦預斯會。時得道人謂吾曰。此主人命盡當更雞身後王晉地。今王為主。豈非福耶。疆埸軍寇。國之常耳。何為怨謗三寶夜興毒念乎。虎迺信寤。跪而謝焉。虎嘗問澄。佛法不殺。朕為天下之主。非刑殺無以肅清海內。既違戒殺生。雖復事佛詎獲福耶。澄曰。帝王事佛。當在體恭心順顯暢三寶不為暴虐不害無辜。至於兇愚無賴非化所遷。有罪不得不殺。有惡不得不刑。但當殺可殺刑可刑耳。若暴虐恣意殺害非法。雖復傾財事法無解殃禍。願陛下省欲興慈廣及一切。佛教永隆福祚方遠。虎雖不能盡從。而為益不少。虎尚書張離張良。家富事佛。各起大塔。澄謂曰。事佛在於清靖無欲慈矜為心。檀越雖儀奉大法。而貪悋未已。游獵無度積聚不窮。方受現世之罪。何福報之可希耶。離等後並被戮滅盡。澄甞遣弟子向西域市香。既行。澄告餘弟子曰。掌中見買香弟子在某處被劫垂死。因燒香呪願。遙救護之。弟子後還云。某月某日某處為賊所劫。垂當見殺。忽聞香氣。賊無故自驚曰。救兵已至。棄之而走。虎每欲伐燕。澄諫日。燕國運未終。卒難可剋。虎屢行敗績。方信澄誡。又黃河中舊不生黿。忽得一以獻虎。澄見而歎曰。桓溫其入河不久。溫字元子。後果如言也。澄嘗與虎共昇中堂。澄忽驚曰。變變。幽州當火災。仍取酒灑之。久而笑曰。救已得矣。虎遣驗幽州云。爾日火從四門起。西南有黑雲來驟雨滅之。雨亦頗有酒氣。至虎建武十四年七月。石宣石韜將圖相殺。宣時到寺與澄同坐。浮圖一鈴獨鳴。澄謂宣曰。解鈴音乎。鈴云。胡子落度。宣變色曰。是何言歟。澄謬曰。老胡為道不能山居。無言重茵美服。豈非落度乎。石韜後至。澄熟視良久。鞱懼而問澄。澄曰。怪公血臭。故相視耳。至八月澄使弟子十人齋于別室。澄時暫入東閤。虎與后杜氏問訊澄。澄曰脅下有賊不出十日。自佛圖以西此殿以東。當有流血。慎勿東行也。杜后曰。和尚耄耶。何處有賊。澄即易語云。六情所受皆悉是賊。老自應耄。但使少者不昏。遂便寓言不復彰的。後二日宣果遣人害鞱於佛寺中。欲因虎臨喪仍行大逆。虎以澄先誡故獲免。及宣事發被收。澄諫虎曰。既是陛下之子。何乃重禍耶。陛下若含恕加慈者。尚有六十餘歲。如必誅之。宣當為彗星下掃鄴宮也。虎不從之。以鐵鎖穿宣頷牽上。薪𧂐而焚之。收其官屬三百餘人。皆轘裂支解投之漳河。澄迺勅弟子罷別室齋也。後月餘日有一妖。馬騣尾皆有燒狀。入中陽門出顯陽門。東首東宮皆不得入。走向東北俄爾不見。澄聞而歎曰。災其及矣。至十一月虎大饗群臣於太武前殿。澄吟曰。殿殿乎棘子成林。將壞人衣。虎令發殿石下視之。有棘生焉。澄還寺視佛像曰。悵恨不得莊嚴。獨語曰。得三年乎。自答不得。又曰。得二年一年百日一月乎。自答不得。迺無復言。還房謂弟子法祚曰。戊申歲禍亂漸萌。己酉石氏當滅。吾及其未亂先從化矣。即遣人與虎辭曰。物理必遷。身命非保。貧道災幻之軀。化期已及。既荷恩殊重。故逆以仰聞。虎愴然曰。不聞和尚有疾。迺忽爾告終。即自出宮詣寺而慰喻焉。澄謂虎曰。出生入死道之常也。脩短分定。非所能延。夫道重行全德貴無怠。苟業操無虧。雖亡若在。違而獲延非其所願。今意未盡者。以國家心存佛理。奉法無悋。興起寺廟。崇顯壯麗。稱斯德也。宜享休祉。而布政猛烈。淫刑酷濫。顯違聖典。幽背法誡。不自懲革。終無福祐若降心易慮惠此下民。則國祚延長道俗慶賴。畢命就盡沒無遺恨。虎悲慟嗚咽。知其必逝。即為鑿壙營墳。至十二月八日卒於鄴宮寺。是歲晉穆帝永和四年也。仕庶悲哀號訃傾國。春秋一百一十七矣。仍窆於臨漳西紫陌。即虎所創塚也。俄而梁犢作亂。明年虎死。染閔篡位。殺石種都盡。閔小字棘奴。澄先所謂棘子成林者也。澄左乳傍先有一孔。圍四五寸通徹腹內。有時腸從中出。或以絮塞孔。夜欲讀書。輒拔絮則一室洞明。又齋日輒至水邊引腸洗之還復內中。澄身長八尺。風姿詳雅。妙解深經。傍通世論。講說之日。正標宗致。使始末文言昭然可了。加復慈洽蒼生拯救危苦。當二石兇強虐害非道。若不與澄同日。孰可言哉。但百姓蒙益。日用不知耳。佛調菩提等數十名僧。皆出自天竺康居。不遠數萬之路。足涉流沙。詣澄受訓。樊河釋道安。中山竺法雅。並跨越關河。聽澄講說。皆妙達精理研𦣱幽微。澄自說生處去鄴九萬餘里。棄家入道一百九年。酒不踰齒過中不食。非戒不履。無欲無求。受業追隨。常有數百。前後門徒幾且一萬。所歷州郡興立佛寺八百九十三所。弘法之盛莫與先矣。初虎殮澄。以生時錫杖及鉢內棺中。後染閔篡位開棺。唯得鉢杖不復見屍。或言澄死之月。有人見在流沙。虎疑不死開見屍。後慕容俊都鄴處石虎宮中。每夢見虎嚙其臂。意謂石虎為祟。迺募覓虎屍於東明館掘得之。屍僵不毀。俊蹋之罵曰。死胡敢怖生天子。汝作宮殿成。而為汝兒所圖。況復他耶。鞭撻毀辱投之漳河。屍倚橋柱不移。秦將王猛迺收而葬之。麻襦所讖。麻襦者。即是魏縣流民。莫識其族。常著麻襦布裘在市乞丐。似狂而是賢。人言同澄公極為交密。初見虎共語了無異。言唯道陛下當終一柱殿下。後符堅征鄴。俊子暐為堅大將郭神虎所執。實先夢虎之驗也。田融趙記云。澄未亡數年自營塚壙澄既知塚必開。又屍不在中。何容預作恐。融之謬矣。澄或言佛圖磴。或言佛圖撜。或言佛圖澄。皆取梵音之不同耳。

During the Jin dynasty, there was Zhu Fotucheng in Ye, who was a native of the Western Regions. His original surname was Bo. He went forth from the household in his youth, remaining pure and upright and devoting himself to study. He chanted several millions of words of the scriptures and was skilled in understanding their meaning. Although he had not read the Confucian texts and histories of this land, when debating doubtful and knotty points with scholars, his understandings were as secretly matched as tallies, and none could bend him. He said of himself that he had twice gone to Kashmir to receive instruction from renowned teachers, and throughout the Western Regions he was acclaimed as one who had attained the Way. In the fourth year of the Yongjia reign of Emperor Huai of the Jin dynasty, he came to Luoyang with the intent to broadly propagate the Great Dharma. He was adept at chanting divine dhāraṇīs and could command ghosts and spirits. Smearing his palm with sesame oil mixed with safflower oil, matters a thousand li away were clearly seen in his palm as if face to face. He could also cause those who observed pure purification rites to see likewise. Furthermore, by listening to the sound of bells he could divine events, never failing to find confirmation. He then concealed himself in the marshy fields to observe the changes of the world. At that time, Shi Le had stationed his troops at Gebi, making slaughter alone his instrument of awe, and very many śramaṇas met their deaths. Cheng took pity on the common people and wished to transform Le through the Way. Thereupon, taking up his staff, he went to the gate of the army. Le's general Guo Heilüe had long revered the Dharma; Cheng immediately sought lodging at Heilüe's house, where Heilüe received the five precepts from him and treated him with the respect due to a master from a disciple. Le summoned Cheng and asked, "What efficacious proof does the Buddha's Way have?" Cheng knew that Le was not receptive to profound principles and could only be convinced by the evidence of spiritual arts. He therefore said, "Although the ultimate Way is profound, it may also be verified through proximate matters." He immediately took an alms bowl, filled it with water, burned incense, and chanted a spell over it. In an instant, a blue lotus flower grew forth, its light and colors dazzling the eyes. Le was thereby convinced and won over. Cheng then admonished him, saying, "When the virtuous transformation of a sovereign spreads through the world, the four spiritual creatures display auspicious omens. When governance falls into corruption and the Way wanes, comets appear above. Ever do portents manifest, with good fortune and calamity following upon conduct. This is the constant verification across ancient and modern times, the clear admonition between heaven and humans." Le was greatly pleased by this. Of all those who were to be executed or mutilated, eight or nine out of ten benefited from his intervention. Later, Le, falling into rage, wished to harm the Daoist practitioners and also wished to torment Cheng. Cheng then avoided this by going to Heilüe's house, telling his disciples, "If the general sends a messenger to ask where I am, report that you do not know where I have gone." The messenger soon arrived, searched for Cheng, but could not find him, and returned to report to Le. Le was startled and said, "I bore ill intent toward the sage, and the sage has abandoned me and departed!" Throughout the night he did not sleep, thinking of seeing Cheng. Knowing that Le had repented, Cheng went to see Le the next morning. Le said, "Where did you go last night?" Cheng said, "You had an angry mind, my lord, and so I temporarily avoided it last night. You have now changed your mind, which is why I dare to come." Le laughed heartily and said, "You are mistaken, man of the Way!" The water source for the moat of the city of Xiangguo was below the Huanlan shrine, five li northwest of the city. Its water suddenly dried up. Le asked Cheng, "How can water be brought?" Cheng said, "Now I should command the dragon." Le's courtesy name was Shilong; thinking that Cheng was mocking him, he replied, "It is precisely because a dragon cannot bring water that I ask you." Cheng said, "These are sincere words, not in jest. In the source of the spring, there must reside a divine dragon. If I now go and command it, water can surely be obtained." He then went with his disciples Fashou and several others to the springhead. The old place of the source had long dried up, cracked like chariot ruts. His followers were suspicious and feared that water would be difficult to obtain. Cheng sat on a rope bed, burned benzoin incense, and chanted aspirations amounting to several hundred words. After three days of this, water suddenly began to flow faintly. There was a small dragon, about five or six inches long, which came out following the water. The monks vied to go and look at it. Cheng said, "The dragon has poisonous vapors; do not approach over it." Shortly thereafter, water arrived in great volume, and the moats and trenches were all filled. The subtle omens Cheng foretold can hardly all be related. After Le ascended the throne, he served Cheng all the more earnestly. At that time, Shi Cong was about to rebel. That year, Cheng warned Le, saying, "This year, there are pests within the alliums; eating them will surely harm people. You may order the populace not to eat alliums." Le issued an order throughout his realm warning them not to eat alliums. By the eighth month, Shi Cong indeed fled. Le respected him even more, consulting him before acting on any matter, and addressed him as "the Great Monk." Shi Hu had a son named Bin, whom Le later took as his own son and loved dearly. He suddenly fell violently ill and died; two days had already passed. Le said, "I have heard that when the Crown Prince of Guo died, Bian Que was able to bring him back to life. The Great Monk is a divine man of the realm; we should urgently go and inform him, for he will surely be able to bring about good fortune." Cheng then took a willow branch and chanted a spell over it. In an instant, the child was able to rise, and before long he fully recovered. From this time on, Le's young children were mostly raised within Buddhist temples. Every year on the eighth day of the fourth month, Le personally went to the temple to bathe the Buddha and make vows for his children. In the fourth month of the fourth year of Jianping, the sky was calm and without wind, yet a single bell on the stūpa rang by itself. Cheng said to the assembly, "The sound of the bell says: 'There will be a great mourning in the state, not outlasting this year.'" In the seventh month of that year, Le died. His son Hong succeeded to the throne. Soon after, Hu deposed Hong and set himself up, moving the capital to Ye and designating the era title Jianwu. Devoting his heart to serving Cheng, he revered him even more than Le had, and issued an edict saying: "The Monk is a great treasure of the realm. Glorious peerages are not bestowed upon him; high emoluments he does not receive. If honors and emoluments are not lavished, how can his virtue be proclaimed? From this time forward, it is fitting that he be clad in damask and brocade and ride in an engraved carriage. On days of court assemblies, when the Monk ascends the hall, all from the Regular Attendants down shall assist in raising the palanquin, and the Crown Prince and the Dukes shall support him as he ascends. The master of ceremonies shall announce, 'The Great Monk has arrived,' and all who are seated shall stand to manifest his veneration." He also commanded the pseudo-Minister of Works, Li Nong, to inquire after him in person morning and evening, and ordered the Crown Prince and Dukes to pay court every five days to express his respect. At that time, Cheng resided in the palace temple inside the city of Ye. He sent his disciple Fachang north to Xiangguo. His disciple Fazuo was returning from Xiangguo, and they met beneath the wall of Liangji, lodging together overnight. Facing each other's carts, they talked through the night, touching upon the Monk. At dawn, each went his way. When Fazuo arrived, he entered to pay respects to Cheng. Cheng smiled ahead of him and said, "Last night, as your cart crossed with Fachang's, did you speak together of your master? The ancients had a saying: 'Is it not called respect? Not to alter even in the dark. Is it not called caution? Not to be indolent even when alone.' To be dark and alone is the root of respect and caution; did you not understand this?" Zuo was startled, ashamed, and repentant. Thereupon the people of the country always said to one another, "Do not harbor ill intentions; the Monk knows of you." Wherever Cheng was, none dared to blow their noses, spit, or relieve themselves facing in his direction. At that time, Crown Prince Shi Sui had two sons in Xiangguo. Cheng said to Sui, "Little Ami will soon fall ill; you may go to bring him back." Sui immediately dispatched a messenger to go and see, and he was indeed already sick. The chief physician Yin Teng and a foreign Daoist claimed that they could cure him. Cheng told his disciple Faya, "Even if a sage were to appear again, he could not cure this illness, let alone these people!" Three days later, the child indeed died. Later, the Jin army came out to the Huai and Si rivers, and Longbei and Wacheng were both invaded and pressed. The three quarters sent urgent reports, and the people's minds were alarmed and disturbed. Hu then grew furious and said, "I have revered the Buddha and made offerings to the Saṅgha, yet this has only brought foreign invaders. The Buddha has no spiritual power!" Cheng entered early the next morning, and Hu asked Cheng about the matter. Cheng then admonished Hu, saying, "Great King, in a past life you were a great merchant leader. Arriving at a monastery in Kashmir, you once offered a great feast, in which were sixty arhats; this lowly body of mine also participated in that assembly. At that time, a person who had attained the Way told me, 'When this host's life ends, he will take a chicken's body, and after that he will rule as king in the land of Jin.' Now that the Great King has become the sovereign, is this not your merit? Military incursions on the borders are a normal occurrence for a state. Why do you resent and slander the Three Jewels, giving rise to venomous thoughts through the night?" Hu then believed and awoke to this, kneeling to apologize. Hu once asked Cheng, "The Buddha's Dharma forbids killing. I am the ruler of all under Heaven; without executions and killings, I cannot purge the realm within the seas. Since I violate the precept and take life, though I serve the Buddha, how can I attain blessings?" Cheng said, "When emperors and kings serve the Buddha, it lies in manifesting reverence in body and yielding in mind, exalting the Three Jewels, not committing cruel tyranny, and not harming the innocent. As for the violent, stupid, and unruly who cannot be changed by moral influence, when they are guilty of crimes, one cannot but kill them; when they commit evil, one cannot but punish them. One should merely kill what may be killed and punish what may be punished. If one indulges one's desires in cruel tyranny, killing and harming unlawfully, then even if one exhausts one's wealth to serve the Dharma, disaster cannot be averted. May Your Majesty lessen desires and give rise to compassion, extending it broadly to all. Then the Buddha's teachings will long flourish, and good fortune will endure." Although Hu could not follow all of it, it was of no small benefit. Hu's Ministers of the Secretariat, Zhang Li and Zhang Liang, had wealthy families and served the Buddha, each building a great stūpa. Cheng said to them, "Serving the Buddha lies in purity, tranquility, desirelessness, and having compassion as one's heart. Although you, dānapatis, ceremonially uphold the Great Dharma, your greed and stinginess have not ceased. Hunting without moderation and accumulating without end, you are about to receive retribution in this present life; what reward of blessings can you hope for?" Li and the other were later both executed and wiped out. Cheng once sent a disciple to the Western Regions to buy incense. After he had departed, Cheng said to the other disciples, "In my palm, I see that the disciple buying incense has been robbed in a certain place and is close to death." He then burned incense and chanted aspirations, rescuing and protecting him from afar. The disciple later returned and said, "On a certain month and day at a certain place, I was robbed by bandits and was on the verge of being killed, when suddenly I smelled a fragrance, and the bandits, startled for no reason, said, 'Relief troops have arrived!' and abandoned me to flee." Whenever Hu wished to attack Yan, Cheng admonished him, saying, "The state of Yan's destiny has not run out; it will be difficult to overcome in haste." Hu repeatedly suffered defeats, only then believing Cheng's admonition. Furthermore, the Yellow River originally did not produce soft-shelled turtles; suddenly one was obtained and presented to Hu. When Cheng saw it, he sighed and said, "Huan Wen will enter the River before long!" Wen's courtesy name was Yuanzi. Later it indeed turned out as he had said. Cheng was once ascending the central hall together with Hu, when Cheng was suddenly startled and said, "A disaster, a disaster! A fire will occur in Youzhou." He then took wine and sprinkled it. After a long while, he smiled and said, "The rescue has been accomplished." Hu sent someone to check Youzhou, who reported, "On that day, fire arose from the four gates; a black cloud came from the southwest, and a sudden downpour extinguished it. The rain also smelled considerably of wine." In the seventh month of the fourteenth year of Hu's Jianwu reign, Shi Xuan and Shi Tao were plotting to kill each other. Xuan at that time came to the temple and sat with Cheng. A single bell on the pagoda rang by itself. Cheng said to Xuan, "Do you understand the sound of the bell? The bell says: 'The barbarian son will fall into calamity.'" Xuan's countenance changed and he said, "What words are these?" Cheng said deceitfully, "This old barbarian practices the Way but cannot live in the mountains, speaking of fine carpets and beautiful garments; is this not falling into calamity?" Shi Tao arrived later; Cheng gazed at him intently for a long time. Tao was frightened and asked Cheng about it; Cheng said, "I was amazed by the smell of your blood, which is why I looked at you." In the eighth month, Cheng had ten disciples purify themselves in a separate chamber. Cheng at that time briefly entered the eastern gallery. Hu and Empress Du inquired after Cheng. Cheng said, "There is a bandit at your flank; it will not exceed ten days. From west of the pagoda to east of this hall, there will be flowing blood. Be cautious not to walk east." Empress Du said, "Is the Monk senile? Where could there be a bandit?" Cheng immediately changed his words, saying, "All that the six senses receive are bandits. It is natural for the old to be senile, so long as the young are not muddled." Thus he spoke in allegories and did not make it explicitly clear again. Two days later, Xuan indeed sent men to kill Tao in the Buddhist temple, wishing to carry out a great treason when Hu came to mourn. Because of Cheng's prior warning, Hu was able to escape. When Xuan's plot was exposed and he was arrested, Cheng admonished Hu, saying, "Since he is Your Majesty's son, why add such heavy calamity? If Your Majesty can show forbearance and apply compassion, there will still be more than sixty years [of dynasty]. If you must execute him, Xuan will become a comet that sweeps down upon the palace of Ye." Hu did not follow his advice; he pierced Xuan's jaw with iron chains, dragged him onto a pile of firewood, and burned him. He arrested more than three hundred of his officials, having them all torn apart by chariots and dismembered, throwing them into the Zhang River. Cheng then instructed his disciples to end their fast in the separate chamber. More than a month later, there was an apparition: a horse whose mane and tail both appeared burned entered the Zhongyang Gate and exited the Xianyang Gate; it headed east toward the Eastern Palace, but could not enter either, and ran toward the northeast, vanishing after a short while. When Cheng heard of it, he sighed and said, "The disaster is about to arrive." In the eleventh month, Hu held a great banquet for his ministers in the front hall of Taiwu. Cheng chanted, "The hall, the hall! Brambles grow into a grove, about to tear people's clothes." Hu ordered the stones beneath the hall to be uncovered and examined, and there were indeed brambles growing there. Cheng returned to the temple, looked at the Buddha statue, and said, "How regrettable that it cannot be adorned!" Speaking to himself, he asked, "Can it last three years?" and answered himself, "It cannot." He asked again, "Can it last two years, one year, a hundred days, or one month?" and answered himself, "It cannot." Then he spoke no more. Returning to his chamber, he said to his disciple Fazuo, "In the wushen year, calamity and chaos will sprout; in the jiyou year, the Shi clan will be destroyed. Before the chaos arrives, I shall pass away first." He immediately sent someone to bid farewell to Hu, saying, "The nature of things must change, and life cannot be preserved. This illusory body of disasters of this poor monk has reached its appointed time of transformation. Having received your exceptional favor, I respectfully inform you in advance." Hu said sorrowfully, "I had not heard that the Monk was ill, yet he suddenly announces his demise!" He immediately left the palace himself, visited the temple, and offered comforting words. Cheng said to Hu, "Entering life and exiting death is the constant way. Long or short life is fixed by destiny; it is not something that can be prolonged. The Way values the perfection of conduct; virtue prizes absence of indolence. If one's conduct and integrity have no flaws, though dead, one remains as if living. To violate them and obtain longevity is not what one desires. What remains unfulfilled in my mind now is that the state cherishes Buddhist principles, serves the Dharma without stint, and has raised temples high and magnificent. Befitting such virtue, you should enjoy good fortune. Yet your governance is violent, and cruel punishments are excessive, openly violating the sacred texts and secretly disobeying the Dharma's admonitions. If you do not restrain and reform yourself, in the end there will be no blessings or protection. If you humble your heart, alter your thoughts, and show kindness to these lower people, then the state's mandate will be prolonged, and both religious and lay will rejoice and rely upon it. Then, completing my life and meeting my end, I shall pass away without remaining regret." Hu wept and sobbed, knowing that he would surely pass away. He immediately had a vault dug and a tomb constructed for him. On the eighth day of the twelfth month, he died at the palace temple in Ye; this year was the fourth year of the Yonghe reign of Emperor Mu of the Jin dynasty. Officials and commoners mourned and wailed, the entire realm mourning; he was one hundred and seventeen years of age. He was then buried at Zimo, west of Linzhang, which was the tomb created by Hu. Soon after, Liang Du raised a rebellion. The next year Hu died, and Ran Min usurped the throne, slaying the Shi clan to the last person. Min's childhood name was Jinu ["Bramble Slave"]; this was what Cheng had previously meant by "brambles grow into a grove." Near Cheng's left breast, there was originally a hole four to five inches in circumference, passing straight through into his abdomen. At times his intestines would emerge from it, and he would plug the hole with cotton wool. At night, when he wished to read scriptures, he would pull out the cotton, and the entire room would be brightly illuminated. Moreover, on days of purification, he would always go to the water's edge, draw out his intestines, wash them, and insert them back inside. Cheng was eight chi tall, with an elegant and composed bearing. He had a marvelous comprehension of profound sūtras and broad mastery of worldly treatises. When lecturing, he would directly indicate the essential tenets, making the text and meaning clear and understandable from beginning to end. In addition, his compassion extended to the populace, rescuing those in peril and distress. Under the violent tyranny and unprincipled cruelty of the two Shis, had they not lived in the same time as Cheng, who could tell what would have happened? Yet the people benefited, using it daily without knowing it. Several tens of renowned monks, such as Fotiao and Bodhi, all came from India and Kangju, not considering tens of thousands of li distant, treading across the drifting sands on foot to come to Cheng to receive instruction. Shi Dao'an of the Fan River and Zhu Faya of Zhongshan both crossed passes and rivers to hear Cheng lecture; all of them marvelously comprehended the refined principles and deeply probed subtle depths. Cheng said of himself that his birthplace was more than ninety thousand li from Ye; he had left the household to enter the Way for one hundred and nine years. Wine never passed his teeth, and he did not eat past noon. If it was not in accordance with the precepts, he did not tread upon it; he had neither desire nor seeking. Those who received instruction and followed him numbered constantly in the hundreds, and from first to last his disciples were nearly ten thousand. In the provinces and commanderies through which he passed, he established eight hundred and ninety-three Buddhist temples. The flourishing of his propagation of the Dharma was surpassed by none. Initially, when Hu encoffined Cheng, he placed his living staff and alms bowl inside the coffin. Later, when Ran Min usurped the throne, he opened the coffin and found only the bowl and staff, no longer seeing the corpse. Some said that in the month Cheng died, someone saw him in the drifting sands. Hu suspected that he was not dead, opened the coffin, and saw the corpse. Later, Murong Jun established his capital at Ye and resided in Shi Hu's palace. He repeatedly dreamed of Hu biting his arm, and suspected that Shi Hu was haunting him. He thereupon offered a reward to find Hu's corpse, and dug it up at the Dongming Pavilion. The corpse was stiff and not decomposed. Jun stepped on it and cursed, "How dare a dead barbarian terrify a living Son of Heaven! When your palaces were completed, you were plotted against by your own son, let alone by others!" He flogged and humiliated it, then threw it into the Zhang River. The corpse leaned against a bridge pillar and did not move. The Qin general Wang Meng then gathered and buried it. This was the prophecy of Maru. Maru was a refugee from Wei County, whose clan was unknown to anyone. He always wore a hemp-padded jacket and a cloth robe, begging in the marketplace. He appeared mad but was actually a worthy. People said that his friendship with Master Cheng was extremely close. When he first met Hu, their conversation had nothing unusual, only saying that His Majesty would end beneath a single-pillared hall. Later, when Fu Jian attacked Ye, Jun's son Wei was captured by Jian's general Guo Shenhu; this was indeed the verification of the earlier dream of the tiger [Hu]. Tian Rong's Records of Zhao says that several years before Cheng died, he built his own tomb. Since Cheng already knew that the tomb would certainly be opened and that his corpse would not be inside, how could he have built it in advance? I fear that Rong is mistaken. Cheng is sometimes called Fotudeng [磴], sometimes Fotuzheng [撜], and sometimes Fotucheng [澄]; these are merely different renderings of the Sanskrit sound.