法苑珠林 85.34

85.34

唐蕭氏。是司元大夫崔義起妻。是蕭鏗女。鏗是僕射之姪。蕭氏為人妬忌多瞋。好打奴婢不信業報。至麟德元年。從駕到雒陽。二年正月身亡。死在地獄。蕭氏手下常所愛婢。名閏玉。年可十八。雖是獠婢容貌端正性識聰敏。信樂佛法。至二月。家內為夫人設三七日齋。僧正食時夫人自來。看齋枷項鎖腰獄卒衛從。餘人不知。唯此婢見。夫人靈著此婢言。音共夫人生平語音無異。使傳語向家內大小云。吾𡣪崔家已來。為性多瞋。橫生嫉妬。好打奴婢。兼不信因果。今至地獄受罪極重。備經諸苦不可具說。聞家內今三七日為吾設齋。請求獄官放一日假。暫來看齋。語汝男女合家大小。吾自共汝同住已來。身三口四意怒三毒。好瞋打汝兼嫉妬丈夫。所看婢妾種種不善。發起惡業今受報苦。不可具陳。願汝男女合家大小。內外眷屬。從汝懺悔。願施歡喜。然汝男女憶吾乳餔之恩。將吾生平受用資具。速捨修福望拔冥苦。至七七日為吾設齋之時。令此功德早得成就。吾至齋日。更請官人望得復來。語丈夫及兒女等。丈夫生平急性多瞋。不得過分瞋打奴婢。勸信三寶恭敬上下。修持齋戒檀忍不絕。臨去之時語男女云。吾且將閏玉去。使在地獄看吾受罪苦痛如何。經五六日還放來。令汝男女知吾受罪苦痛虛實。作此語已閏玉即死。唯心上暖餘分並冷。身臥在地不敢埋之。此婢既至地獄。見一大殿院門。嚴兵守衛。云是王殿不敢窺窬。行至東院。別見一廳上有大官人。云是斷罪官。復過廳院東有地獄種種苦具。一如圖畫。夫人語婢云。汝看吾受罪之苦。作此語已即有種種獄卒羅剎。撲擲夫人屠割身肉。鑊湯煎煮。煮已還活。活已復歷諸獄鐵鉗抽舌。鐵鳥啄之。復臥鐵床。飛鳥猛火一時著身。死己還活。活已復受諸苦。不可具陳。夫人蘇已。即見其父蕭鏗乘紫金蓮華座騰空而來。鏗生平已來及歷任諸官。皆不食酒肉葷辛。常誦法華經。日別一遍。恭敬三寶。晝夜六時禮誦無闕。今生善處。見女受苦故來相救。即語女云。吾生平之日。每勸汝生信止怒。汝不用吾語。今致其殃。汝復何因。將此婢來。女報父言。為兒生平不信今受罪苦。故將此婢看兒受罪輕重。令傳向家內男女使其生信。父聞印可。即語女言。吾雖生善處。未能全救汝苦。汝努力自勵發心兼藉家內福善共相助佐決望得出上昇人天。作此語已忽有一婆羅門師。年少端正亦乘空而來。語夫人云。由汝不信因果今受罪苦。未知此婢性識如何。吾欲教誦經使傳家內令世人生信。夫人報云。請師但教。此婢聰明誦經可得。師即先教誦金剛般若。初受二三行有忘一二句者。後續授之。漸得半紙一紙。少時誦得不忘。復教誦藥師法華。一受不忘。此之三部。皆作梵音。不作漢語。文詞典正音韻清亮。文句皆熟。即已放歸。臨來語云。汝至家內逢人為誦。漢人道俗不別汝音。令覓婆羅門善梵語者。試看誦之。始知善惡。世人多有信邪事道不樂佛法。既見汝獠婢尚能誦得三本梵經。豈可不生信心。儻得一人迴邪入正。非直夫人得福。亦令汝後報不入三塗。既受此語已放出。至家惺了。如舊即集家內尊卑具說夫人地獄受罪苦事。猶恐曹主兒郎等不信。即臥在地。作夫人在地獄受苦之事。或云看夫人吞熱鐵丸。開口咽之。口赤腹熱如火。或云看夫人受鐵犁耕舌吐舌二三尺餘。或云看夫人受鐵床苦。身體紅赤熱氣如火。如是變現種種苦痛之相已。然後蘇惺。復說見夫人父誡勅之事。復說見婆羅門教誦經。意夫人得出地獄上昇天報。此婢即為家內正坐而誦。文文句句皆作梵音。聲氣清亮令人樂聞。室家大小見此善惡靈驗。罕所未聞。夫人男女大小五體自撲。號哭哀慟。逾痛初亡。道俗郡官聞者皆勸。易心歸信齋戒不絕。麟德元年有西域四婆羅門。來獻佛束頂骨。因親眷屬將軍薛仁軌家內設齋。諸親聚集。諸官人共議云。此婢雖誦得梵經。某等皆不別之。故邀屈請得此四婆羅門。至將軍舍齋。復喚得此婢。不語四僧云在地獄中誦得。但誑云別有婆羅門誦得此三部經。密試虛實。即對西僧令婢誦之。且誦金剛般若訖。此四婆羅門一時皆起合掌怪歎希奇未曾有也。何因漢人能得如此。更為藥師法華訖。彌加歡喜恭敬如師。即譯語傳云。此女何因得如此善巧音詞。文句典正經熟不錯。吾西域善能誦者。未能如是。此非凡人能得如此。諸官人等始為說實。西僧泣淚非是聖力冥加。豈能如是言詞典正。諸官道俗見者悲歎。深信佛法不敢輕慢。將軍因見此事。奏上聞徹皇帝。勅語百官。信知佛法眾聖之上冥祐所資。孰不能信。百官拜謝慶所未聞。良由三寶景福恩重慈蔭四生。非臣下愚所能籌度。聖凡受益。豈得不信（崔大夫亦麟德二年亡宅在西京宮城東翼善坊西門大巷南壁上道至其家見婢誦經具說如是也）。

The Tang lady née Xiao was the wife of Cui Yiqi, Grand Master of Siyuan. She was the daughter of Xiao Keng, and Keng was a nephew of the Vice Director. Lady Xiao was jealous and prone to anger by nature, fond of beating bondservants, and did not believe in karmic retribution. In the first year of Linde, she accompanied the imperial entourage to Luoyang, and in the first month of the second year she died, ending up in hell. Under Lady Xiao there was a maidservant she had always favored, named Runyu, about eighteen years of age. Although she was a Liao bondmaid, her appearance was upright and handsome, and her nature and intelligence were sharp; she had faithful joy in the Buddha's Dharma. In the second month, the family held a third-seven-day vegetarian feast for the lady. At the time when the monks were eating, the lady came of herself, wearing a cangue on her neck and chains around her waist, escorted by hell lictors, to view the feast. Other people did not know of it; only this maidservant saw it. The lady's spirit possessed this maidservant to speak, and her voice was no different from the lady's voice during her lifetime. She had her convey a message to all the family, great and small, saying: 'Since I married into the Cui family, by nature I was prone to anger, gave way to groundless jealousy, loved to beat bondservants, and moreover did not believe in cause and effect. Now I have arrived in hell and am suffering exceedingly heavy punishment, undergoing all kinds of torments that cannot be fully spoken of. Hearing that the household is holding a feast for me today on the third seventh day, I requested the hell magistrate to grant me one day's leave to come briefly to view the feast. Tell your sons, daughters, and the entire household, great and small: since I lived together with you, I committed the three bodily, four verbal, and three mental poisons of wrath, being fond of getting angry and beating you, as well as being jealous of my husband and the maidservants and concubines he looked upon, committing all kinds of unwholesome deeds. Having set in motion evil karma, I now receive suffering retribution, which cannot be recounted in full. May you, my sons and daughters, the entire household great and small, inner and outer relatives, accept my repentance and grant me gladness. However, you, my sons and daughters, remembering the kindness of my nursing and feeding you, quickly renounce and donate the goods and articles I used during my life to cultivate blessings, hoping to deliver me from the dark torments. When you hold a feast for me on the seventh seventh day, cause this merit to be swiftly accomplished. When my feast day arrives, I will ask the magistrate again in hopes of being able to come once more. Tell my husband, sons, daughters, and the rest: during his life, my husband has been hot-tempered and prone to wrath; he must not excessively beat the bondservants in anger. Exhort him to believe in the Three Jewels, to revere high and low, and to practice the vegetarian fast, precepts, giving, and patience without cessation.' When she was about to leave, she said to her sons and daughters: 'I will take Runyu away for a while, to let her see in hell what my punishment and agony are like. After five or six days, I will release her back, to let you, my sons and daughters, know the reality of my punishment and agony.' After she spoke these words, Runyu died immediately. Only the area above her heart remained warm while the rest of her body was cold; she lay on the ground, and they did not dare bury her. When this maidservant reached hell, she saw the courtyard gate of a grand hall, guarded by strict troops, which was said to be the King's hall, into which she dared not peer. Walking to the eastern courtyard, she saw another hall with a high official in it, who was said to be the magistrate who judges crimes. Passing further to the east of the courtyard hall, there were hells with all kinds of instruments of torment, exactly as in paintings. The lady said to the maid: 'Look at the misery of my punishment.' After she spoke these words, all sorts of hell lictors and rākṣasas immediately tossed and threw the lady, butchering and cutting her flesh, and boiling her in cauldrons of soup. After being boiled, she returned to life; after returning to life, she further went through various hells where iron tongs drew out her tongue and iron birds pecked it; she was also laid on an iron bed, where flying birds and fierce fires struck her body all at once. After dying, she returned to life, and after returning to life, she again suffered various torments that cannot be recounted in full. When the lady revived, she immediately saw her father, Xiao Keng, soaring through the sky seated upon a purple-gold lotus throne. Throughout his lifetime and through all his official posts, Keng had never consumed wine, meat, or pungent roots; he constantly recited the Lotus Sūtra, once every day, revered the Three Jewels, and bowed and chanted without neglect during the six periods of the day and night. Now born in a good realm, seeing his daughter suffering, he came to rescue her. He then said to his daughter: 'During my lifetime, I constantly exhorted you to generate faith and cease wrath, but you would not heed my words, bringing about this disaster today. Why, moreover, have you brought this maidservant here?' The daughter replied to her father, saying: 'Because during my life I did not believe and am now suffering punishment, I therefore brought this maidservant to see the severity of my punishment, so that she may convey it to the sons and daughters of the household and cause them to generate faith.' Hearing this, the father gave his approval, and said to his daughter: 'Although I have been born in a good realm, I cannot wholly save you from your misery. Strive diligently to encourage yourself to arouse the aspiration, and moreover rely on the household's blessings and goodness to assist you together; then you may firmly hope to get out and ascend to human or heavenly rebirth.' After he spoke these words, suddenly a brāhmaṇa master, youthful and handsome, also came flying through the air, and said to the lady: 'Because you did not believe in cause and effect, you now suffer punishment. I do not know how this maidservant's faculties and intelligence are; I wish to teach her to recite sūtras, so that she may transmit them to the household and cause worldly people to generate faith.' The lady replied, saying: 'Please, Master, simply teach her; this maidservant is clever and can manage to recite the sūtras.' The master then first taught her to recite the Diamond Prajñā; when she first received two or three lines, she forgot one or two phrases, but as he continued to instruct her, she gradually managed half a page and a full page, and in a short while recited it without forgetting. He further taught her to recite the Bhaiṣajyaguru and the Lotus Sūtras, which she did not forget once received. All three of these texts were in Sanskrit sounds, not in the Chinese language; the diction was standard and correct, the pronunciation and rhythm clear and bright, and the passages thoroughly memorized. She was then released to return. When she was about to leave, he said: 'When you arrive home, recite them for whoever you meet. The Chinese, whether clergy or lay, do not distinguish your sounds; have them seek a brāhmaṇa skilled in Sanskrit, and let him listen to your recitation; only then will they know its quality. Many people in the world believe in heresy and serve Daoism, not taking joy in the Buddha's Dharma. Once they see that you, a Liao bondmaid, can still recite three Sanskrit sūtras, how could they fail to generate faith? If even one person can be turned from error into correctness, not only will the lady attain blessings, but your own future retribution will also not fall into the three evil destinies.' Having received these words, she was released. Arriving home, she regained consciousness, was as before, and immediately gathered the household, high and low, to recount in full the lady's suffering in hell. Still fearing that the master and young gentlemen would not believe, she lay down on the ground and acted out the lady's suffering in hell: at times saying, 'Watch the lady swallowing hot iron balls,' opening her mouth to swallow them, her mouth red and belly burning like fire; at times saying, 'Watch the lady undergoing the iron plow tilling her tongue,' sticking out her tongue two or three feet; at times saying, 'Watch the lady suffering the iron bed,' her body turning red and hot vapor rising like fire. Having thus manifested all kinds of agony, she then revived. She further recounted the matter of seeing the lady's father admonishing her, and recounted seeing the brāhmaṇa teach her to recite the scriptures, intending for the lady to escape hell and ascend to heavenly retribution. This maidservant then sat upright for the household and recited, phrase by phrase and sentence by sentence, all in Sanskrit sounds, her voice clear and resonant, causing people to listen with joy. When the household, great and small, saw this spiritual verification of good and evil, the likes of which had rarely been heard, the lady's sons, daughters, great and small, threw themselves to the ground, weeping and wailing with sorrow and grief, exceeding the pain of her initial death. Clerics, laypeople, and commandery officials who heard of it all exhorted one another, changed their minds to take refuge and believe, and observed the vegetarian fast and precepts without cessation. In the first year of Linde, four brāhmaṇas from the Western Regions came to present the Buddha's cranial bone relic. On that occasion, a vegetarian feast was held in the household of their relative, General Xue Rengui, where all relatives gathered. The various officials conferred together, saying: 'Although this maidservant can recite Sanskrit sūtras, none of us can distinguish them. Let us therefore invite and request these four brāhmaṇas to come to the general's residence for the feast, and also summon this maidservant; do not tell the four monks that she learned to recite in hell, but merely deceive them by saying that another brāhmaṇa recited these three sūtras to her, to test secretly whether it is true or false.' Thereupon, facing the Western monks, they had the maidservant recite. When she had recited the Diamond Prajñā, the four brāhmaṇas all stood up at once, joined their palms in wondrous praise at this rare and unprecedented marvel: 'For what reason can a Chinese person achieve this?' When she further recited the Bhaiṣajyaguru and Lotus Sūtras, they were even more delighted and revered her like a teacher. They then conveyed through an interpreter, saying: 'For what reason does this girl possess such skillful pronunciation and diction? The sentences are canonical and correct, and her mastery of the texts is without error. Even among those in our Western Regions who are skilled at recitation, none can match this. This is not something an ordinary person could achieve!' Only then did the officials tell them the truth. The Western monks wept tears, [saying]: 'Were it not for the dark assistance of holy power, how could her words and diction be so canonical and correct?' The officials, clerics, and laypeople who witnessed this grieved with sighs, deeply believed in the Buddha's Dharma, and did not dare treat it lightly. Because of seeing this matter, the general memorialized it upward to reach the Emperor. The Emperor issued an edict to the hundred officials: 'Know with faith that the Buddha's Dharma is superior to all the holy ones and aided by dark protection; who could fail to believe?' The hundred officials bowed in thanks, celebrating what they had never heard before: 'It is truly because the great blessings and kindness of the Three Jewels are profound, and their compassionate shade covers the four kinds of born beings, which is not something the foolish minds of subjects can fathom. Since both holy and ordinary benefit from it, how could one not believe?' (Grand Master Cui also died in the second year of Linde. His residence was on the south side of the grand avenue of the west gate of Yishan Ward, east of the palace city in the Western Capital. A monk on the road visited his house, saw the maid reciting the scriptures, and recounted it in full like this.)