法苑珠林 94.12

94.12

後隋大業中雍州長安縣有人。姓趙名文若。死經七日。家人大斂將欲入棺。乃縮一脚。家人懼怕不敢入棺。文若得活。眷屬喜問所由。文若報云。當死之時。見人引向閻羅王所問文若。汝生存之時作何福業。文若答王。受持金剛般若經。王歎云。善哉。此福第一。汝雖福善。且將汝示其受罪之處。令一人引文若。北行十步至一牆孔。令文若入孔。隔壁有人。引手從孔中捉文若頭引出。極大辛苦。得度牆外見大地獄。鑊湯苦具罪人受苦。不可具述。乃有眾多猪羊雞魚鵝鴨之屬。競來從文若債命。文若云。吾不食汝身。何故見逼。諸畜生等各報云。汝往日時某年某月某處食我頭脚四支。節節分張。人各飲噉。何故諱之。文若見畜引實不敢拒逆。唯知一心念佛。深悔諸罪。不出餘言。求與諸畜得活之時具修福善報謝諸畜。見為修福一時放却。其引使人過將文若至王所。說見受罪處訖。王付一盌釘令文若食之。并用五釘。釘文若頭。項及以手足。然後放過。文若得蘇。具說此事。然患頭痛及以手足。久後修福痛漸得差。從爾已來精勤誦持金剛般若。不敢遺漏寸陰。但見道俗親疏。並勸受持般若。後因使至一驛廳上。暫時偃息。似如欲睡。于時夢見一青衣婦女急速而來。請救乞命。文若驚寤。即喚驛長問云。汝不為吾欲殺生不。驛長答云。實為公欲殺一小羊。文若問云。其羊作何色。答云。是青羖牸羊。文若報云。汝急放却。吾與價直贖取放之。良由般若威力冥資感應也。

Later, during the Daye reign period of the Sui dynasty, there was a man in Chang'an County, Yongzhou, named Zhao Wenruo. Seven days after he had died, his family members held the major encoffining and were about to place him into the coffin, but he withdrew one foot. His family was terrified and did not dare put him into the coffin. Wenruo revived. When his relatives joyfully asked the reason, Wenruo reported, 'At the time of my death, I saw a person lead me to the place of King Yama. The King asked me, "While you were alive, what meritorious deeds did you cultivate?" I replied to the King, "I received and upheld the Diamond Prajñā Sūtra." The King praised, saying, "Excellent! This merit is foremost. Although you have merits and good deeds, I will first have you shown the place where retribution is suffered." He ordered a person to lead me ten paces north to a hole in a wall, and told me to enter the hole. There was a person on the other side of the wall who reached a hand through the hole, grabbed my head, and pulled me through with extreme pain and hardship. Once past the wall, I saw a great hell. With caldrons of boiling water and implements of torment, the sinners suffered agony beyond description. Then there were numerous pigs, sheep, chickens, fish, geese, and ducks that vied to come demand the debt of life from me. I said, "I did not eat your bodies; why do you press upon me?" The animals each replied, "In past days, in such-and-such a year, month, and place, you ate our heads, feet, and four limbs, dismembering us joint by joint, and people ate and drank us respectively. Why do you deny it?" Seeing that the animals were citing the facts, I truly did not dare resist. I only knew to single-mindedly recite the Buddha's name and deeply repent my sins, speaking no other words, and begged that when I was revived, I would fully cultivate good merits to recompense the animals. Seeing that I would cultivate merit for them, they released me all at once. The guiding messenger then brought me to the King's place and reported that I had seen the place of retribution. The King handed me a bowl of nails and made me eat them, and also used five nails to nail my head, neck, and hands and feet, after which he released me. When I revived, I recounted this matter in full. However, I suffered from pains in the head and hands and feet; later, through cultivating merit, the pain gradually subsided. From then on, I diligently chanted and upheld the Diamond Prajñā Sūtra, not daring to waste an inch of time. Whenever I met monastics, laypeople, relatives, or acquaintances, I urged them all to receive and uphold the Prajñā Sūtra. Later, while on an official errand, I arrived at a relay station hall to rest for a moment, feeling as though I were about to fall asleep. At that time, I dreamed of a woman in blue garments who came rushing forward to plead for help and beg for her life. Startled, I awoke, and immediately summoned the stationmaster, asking, "Are you about to kill a living creature on my behalf?" The stationmaster replied, "Indeed, for your lordship, I was about to slaughter a small sheep." I asked, "What color is the sheep?" He replied, "It is a black-and-blue female sheep." I told him, "Release it quickly; I will give you the price to redeem and release it." This was truly due to the unseen assistance and sympathetic resonance of the mighty power of the Prajñā Sūtra.'