法苑珠林 94.7

94.7

晉新野庾紹之。小字道覆。晉湘東太守與南陽宋協中表昆弟情好綢繆。紹元興末病亡。義熙中忽見形詣協。形貌衣服具如平生。而兩脚著械。既至脫械。置地而坐。協問何由得顧。答云。暫蒙假歸。與卿親好故相過也。協問鬼神之事。紹輒漫略不甚諧對。唯云。宜勤精進不可殺生。若不能都斷可勿宰牛。食肉之時無噉物心。協云。五藏與肉乃復異耶。答曰。心者善神之宅也。其罪尤重。具問親戚。因談世事。末復求酒。協時時餌茱萸酒因為設之。酒至對杯不飲云。有茱萸氣。協曰。為惡之耶。答云。下官皆畏之。非獨我也。紹為人語聲高壯。此言論時不異常日。有頃協兒邃之來。紹聞屐聲極有懼色。謂協曰。生氣見陵不復得住。與卿三年別耳。因貫械而起。出戶便滅。協後為正員郎。果三年而卒。

During the Jin dynasty, Yu Shaozhi of Xinye, whose courtesy name was Daofu, was the Governor of Xiangdong. He and Song Xie of Nanyang were maternal cousins and deeply attached to each other. Shaozhi fell ill and died at the end of the Yuanxing reign period. During the Yixi reign period, his form suddenly appeared to visit Xie. His appearance and clothing were entirely as they had been in life, but both of his feet were in shackles. Upon arriving, he took off the shackles, set them on the ground, and sat down. Xie asked why he had come to visit. He replied, 'I was granted a temporary leave to return, and because of our closeness and affection, I came to visit you.' When Xie asked about the matters of ghosts and spirits, Shaozhi answered only evasively and not in full, saying only: 'You should be diligent in vigorous practice and must not kill living beings. If you cannot stop completely, at least do not slaughter oxen. When eating meat, do not have a mind that craves [other] beings.' Xie said, 'Is there a difference between internal organs and flesh?' He replied, 'The heart is the dwelling place of good spirits; the sin [of eating it] is especially heavy.' He inquired thoroughly about their relatives, and then they discussed worldly affairs. At the end, he asked for wine. Xie occasionally took dogwood wine, so he set it before him. When the wine arrived, facing the cup, he did not drink, saying, 'It smells of dogwood.' Xie asked, 'Do you dislike it?' He replied, 'We petty officials all fear it; it is not only I.' Shaozhi by nature had a loud and robust voice, and when conversing at this time, it was no different from ordinary days. After a short while, Xie's son Suizhi arrived. Hearing the sound of his clogs, Shaozhi showed great fear and said to Xie, 'The vital qi of the living encroaches upon me, and I can stay no longer. We must part for three years.' He then put on his shackles and stood up; going out the door, he vanished. Xie later became a Regular Court Gentleman, and indeed died three years later.