法苑珠林 94.11

94.11

周武帝好食雞卵。一食數枚。有監膳儀同名拔虎。常進御食有寵。隋文帝即位。猶後監膳進食。開皇中暴死。而心尚暖。家人不忍殯之。三日乃蘇。能語先云。輿我見至尊。為武帝傳說。既現而請。文帝引問言曰。始忽見人來喚。隨至一處。有大地穴所行之道徑入。纔到穴口。遙見西方有百騎來。儀衛如王者。俄至穴口。乃周武帝也。儀同拜之。帝曰。王喚汝證我事耳。汝身無罪。言訖即入宮中。使者亦引儀同令見宮門。引入庭前。見武帝與王同坐。而有加敬之容。使者令儀同拜王。王問曰。汝為帝作食。前後進白團幾枚。儀同不識白團顧左右。左右教曰。名雞卵為白團也。儀同即答。帝食白團實不記數。王謂帝曰。此人不記。當須出之。帝慘然不樂而起。忽見庭前有鐵床并獄卒數十人。皆牛頭人身帝已臥床上。獄卒用鐵梁壓之。帝兩脇剖裂處。雞子全出。俄與床齊。可十餘斛。乃盡王命數之訖。床及獄卒忽然不見。帝又已在王坐。帝謂儀同云。為我相聞大隋天子。昔與我共食。倉庫玉帛亦我儲之。我今身為滅佛法極受大苦。可為吾作功德也。於是文帝勅天下人。出一錢為追福焉。臨外祖齊公親見問時節。歸家具說。

Emperor Wu of the Zhou dynasty was fond of eating chicken eggs, consuming several at a single meal. There was an Adjutant of the Catering Bureau named Bahu, who regularly presented imperial meals and was favored. When Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty ascended the throne, Bahu still served as Adjutant of the Catering Bureau to present meals. During the Kaihuang reign period, he died suddenly, but his chest was still warm, so his family could not bear to encoffin him. After three days he revived. Being able to speak, he first said, 'Carry me to see the Sovereign, so that I may convey a message on behalf of Emperor Wu.' Once he appeared and made his request, Emperor Wen summoned him and questioned him. Bahu said: 'At first, I suddenly saw someone come calling for me. Following him to a place, there was a great cavern into which the road led directly. Just upon reaching the mouth of the cavern, I saw in the distance from the west about a hundred horsemen approaching, with ceremonial guards like those of a king. Soon they reached the cavern's mouth, and it was Emperor Wu of the Zhou dynasty. I, the Adjutant, bowed to him. The Emperor said, "The King has summoned you only to bear witness to my affairs; your person has no guilt." Having spoken, he entered the palace. The messenger also led me to the palace gate and brought me into the front courtyard. I saw Emperor Wu seated together with the King, who treated him with an attitude of added respect. The messenger ordered me to bow to the King. The King asked, "When you prepared food for the Emperor, how many 'white balls' did you present to him in total?" Not recognizing what "white balls" were, I looked to the attendants on the left and right. The attendants instructed me, saying, "Chicken eggs are called 'white balls.'" I then replied, "The Emperor ate white balls, but truly I did not keep count of their number." The King said to the Emperor, "This person did not keep count; they must be brought out." The Emperor arose, looking sorrowful and unhappy. Suddenly, I saw an iron bed in the front courtyard, along with several tens of hell wardens, all with ox heads and human bodies. The Emperor was already lying on the bed. The wardens pressed down on him with iron beams. Where both of the Emperor's flanks cracked open, whole chicken eggs emerged. Soon they were level with the bed, amounting to about ten-odd hu. When they were completely out, the King ordered them to be counted. Once finished, the bed and the wardens suddenly vanished, and the Emperor was once again seated with the King. The Emperor said to me, "Convey this on my behalf to the Son of Heaven of the Great Sui: in the past, he shared meals with me, and the storehouses, jade, and silks were also stockpiled by me. Now, because I destroyed the Buddha's Dharma, I am suffering extreme torment. Let him cultivate merits on my behalf." Thereupon Emperor Wen decreed that all people under heaven donate one coin to pursue blessings for him. My maternal grandfather, the Duke of Qi, personally saw Bahu and questioned him about the time and circumstances, and upon returning home recounted it in full.'