法苑珠林 16.73

16.73

Shi Linggan of the Great Meditation Sanctuary in the Western Capital under the Sui dynasty was lay-surnamed Li, a native of Didao in Jincheng. His aspirations and conduct were reverent and diligent, and he constantly cultivated pure karmic deeds. In reliance on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, he practiced the contemplation of the Lotus Store World-Ocean and the contemplation of Maitreya's Heavenly Palace. In the seventeenth year of the Kaihuang era, he fell ill and suddenly fell unconscious; only his heart remained warm, so they did not dare bury him. Later, upon awakening, he related: 'At first I saw two men standing before the door holding documents in their hands. They said, "The magistrate needs to see the master." In the space of a moment, I went along with them. It felt like riding on the air, my feet touching nothing. We arrived at a great garden with groves of seven-jeweled trees, stately and splendid as a painting. Having escorted me there, the two men took their leave and withdrew. Entering the garden alone, I gazed east and west as far as the eye could see; I saw only that the groves, ground, mountains, and pools were made of nothing but precious gems, their dazzle blinding my eyes so that I could not look at them directly. Beneath the trees were flower seats, on some of which people were seated, while others were unoccupied. Suddenly I heard someone call out, "Linggan, have you come here?" Following the sound, I went toward him: it was Dharma Master Huiyuan. Paying homage and inquiring, I asked, "What place is this?" He replied, "This is Tuṣita Heaven. Sengxiu and I were reborn here together. The one seated next to me on the south is Master Xiu." The forms of Yuan and Xiu were both unlike their former bodies; on their heads they wore celestial crowns, and their garments were crimson and purple, with an otherworldly radiance. Yet their voices sounded as of old, so they could still be recognized. He further said to Linggan, "You and my disciples will all be reborn here later." Thereupon gaining realization, he redoubled his former practices, remaining in upright contemplation and severing ties with worldly people. In the third year of the Daye era, when the Dhyāna monastery was first completed, he was summoned by imperial order to serve as the abbot of the sanctuary. The monastic assembly flourished greatly, and his governance was orderly. In the eighth year, the illness in his quarters gradually worsened, and as he was about to pass away, his pupils gazed upward, not looking at anyone. After a long while, he lowered his gaze, his complexion appearing as usual. When the śramaṇa Tongzhen came to inquire after his illness, he observed this appearance. Linggan said to Zhen: "Just now I saw two boys clad in blue robes come to summon me, and I followed them away. Arriving outside the celestial city of Tuṣita, I was not yet able to enter the palace. If I stood on tiptoe and looked up, I could see the jewel-trees and floral canopies within the city; if I stood normally, I could see nothing." The attendants nursing him realized that his previous raising of the eyes had been this very sign. Zhen said, "If you were to reside there straightaway, your original vow would be greatly fulfilled." Linggan said, "Heavenly joys do not last; one ultimately falls back into saṃsāra. The ocean of the Lotus Store of the Avataṃsaka is what I seek." Soon afterward, his breath ceased. A moment later, Tongzhen asked again, "What do you see?" Linggan said, "I see vast waters filling everywhere, and flowers as large as cartwheels. I am seated upon them; my vow is fulfilled." Shortly after that, he passed away. (Dharma Master Tongzhen was the abbot of the Western Great Meditation Temple under the Sui, and passed away in the early Wude era.) On the twenty-ninth day of the first month of the eighth year of the Daye era, Linggan passed away in his temple at the age of seventy-eight.