法苑珠林 89.119

89.119

齊琅瑘𭗵山有釋法度。黃龍人。少出家。游學北土備綜眾經。而專以苦節成務。宋末游于京師。高士齊郡明僧紹。杭迹人外。隱居琅瑘之𭗵山。挹度清卓。待以師友之禮。及亡捨所居為栖霞寺。請度居之。先有道士。欲以寺地為館。住者輒死。及後為寺猶多恐動。自度居之群妖皆息。經歲許間。忽有人馬鼓角之聲。俄見一人持名紙通度曰靳尚。度前之。尚形甚清雅羽衛亦嚴。致敬已乃言。弟子王有此山七百餘年。神道有法。物不得干。前諸栖託。或非真正。故死病相繼。亦其命也。法師道德所歸。謹捨以奉給。并願受五戒永結來緣。度曰。人神道殊無容相屈。且檀越血食祭祀。此最五戒所禁。尚曰。若備門徒輒先去殺。於是辭去。明旦度見一人送錢一萬香燭刀子。疏云。弟子靳尚奉供。至月十五日度為設會。尚又來。同眾禮拜行道受戒而去。𭗵山廟巫夢告曰。吾已受戒於度法師。祠祀勿得殺戮。由是廟同薦止菜脯而已。度甞動散寢於地。見尚從外來以手摩頭足而去。頃之復來。持一瑠璃甌。甌中如水與度含。味甘而冷。度所苦即間。其徵感若此。齊竟陵王蕭子良始安王等。並遙恭以師敬。資給四事。六時無闕。以齊永元二年卒於山中。春秋六十四矣。

Under the Qi, at Mount She in Langye, there was Shi Fadu, a native of Huanglong. He left household life in his youth, traveled and studied in the northern regions, comprehensively mastering the various scriptures, and dedicated himself to accomplishing his tasks through austere discipline. At the end of the Song, he traveled to the capital. The eminent scholar Ming Sengshao of Qi Commandery, who had detached his traces from the worldly realm, was living in seclusion at Mount She in Langye; admiring Du's purity and distinction, he treated him with the courtesy of a master and friend. When he was about to die, he relinquished his residence to make Qixia Temple and invited Du to reside there. Previously, a Daoist had wished to turn the temple land into an abbey, but whoever lived there died; even after it was made into a monastery, there were still many frightening disturbances. From the time Du took up residence, the throng of monsters was entirely quieted. After about a year had passed, there was suddenly the sound of horses, men, drums, and horns; presently, a man holding a name card was seen, announcing to Du that he was Jin Shang. Du went before him. Shang's appearance was exceedingly refined and elegant, and his honor guard was also solemn. Having paid his respects, he said, "This disciple has ruled as king over this mountain for over seven hundred years. The divine way has its laws, and worldly creatures may not violate them. Those who previously sought lodge here were perhaps not genuine and upright, hence illness and death succeeded one another, which was also their destiny. The Dharma Master is one to whom virtue and the Way return; I respectfully relinquish it to offer to you, and I also wish to receive the five precepts to forge a connection for future lives forever." Du said, "The ways of humans and spirits are different; there is no need to trouble yourself. Moreover, the patron is worshipped with bloody sacrifices; this is strictly forbidden by the five precepts." Shang said, "If I may be among your disciples, I will immediately renounce killing first." He then took his leave. The next morning, Du saw a person delivering ten thousand cash, incense, candles, and a knife, with a note saying: "Offered by the disciple Jin Shang." On the fifteenth of the month, Du held an assembly for him; Shang came again, and together with the assembly bowed, circumambulated, received the precepts, and departed. The shaman of the Mount She shrine had a dream in which he was told: "I have already received the precepts from Dharma Master Du; in sacrificial offerings, there must be no slaughter." From then on, the offerings at the shrine were limited to vegetables and dried fruits alone. Once, when Du took cold-food powder and lay on the ground, he saw Shang come in from outside, stroke his head and feet with his hand, and leave. A short while later he came again, holding a lapis lazuli bowl containing something like water, which he gave to Du to hold in his mouth; its taste was sweet and cold, and Du's suffering immediately abated. Such was his miraculous efficacy. Xiao Ziliang, Prince of Jingling under the Qi, the Prince of Shi'an, and others all revered him from afar with the respect due to a teacher, providing him with the four requisites at the six times of the day without interruption. In the second year of the Yongyuan era of the Qi, he died on the mountain at the age of sixty-four.