法苑珠林 18.28

18.28

During the Daye era of the Sui, a traveling monk arrived at the Mount Tai shrine seeking lodging for the night. The temple keeper said, "There are no other quarters here; you can only lodge under the veranda of the shrine. However, those who have lodged here recently have always died." The monk said, "There is no harm in it." Having no choice, [the keeper] complied and set up a bed for him under the veranda. When night fell, the monk sat upright and recited sūtras. Around the first watch, he heard the sound of ringing pendants in the room. In a short while, the deity came out and bowed to the monk. The monk said, "I have heard that most of those who lodge here die; could it be that the dānapati harms them? I hope you will protect me." The deity said, "Those who met their deaths, upon hearing my voice as I approached, died of their own fear; I did not kill them. May the master have no worries." The monk then invited him to sit, and they talked for the duration of a meal. During this, [the monk said], "I have heard worldly people pass on the legend that Mount Tai governs ghosts; is this truly so?" The deity said, "Because of my meager merit, it is indeed so. Would you like to see those who have previously died?" The monk said, "Two of my fellow monk students died previously; I wish to see them." The deity asked their names and said, "One has already been reborn among humans; the other is in hell, and his guilt is too heavy to summon him here. The master may go and see him." Hearing this, the monk was very glad, so he got up and went out. Not far away, they arrived at a place where he saw many shrine prisons with fires blazing fiercely. The deity led the monk into a courtyard; in the distance he saw a person amidst the flames, wailing and unable to speak, his form changed so that he was no longer recognizable, and the stench of scorched flesh and blood was heart-rending. [The deity said], "This is he. Does the master not wish to look around?" Grieved and compassionate, the monk asked to leave. Presently they returned to the shrine and sat again with the deity. He then asked, "If I wish to save my fellow student, is there a way?" The deity said, "It is possible: if you can copy the Lotus Sūtra for him, he will be freed." Soon dawn was approaching; the deity took his leave of the monk and entered the hall. At dawn, the temple keeper saw that the monk had not died and marveled at it. The monk told him the reason, and thereupon copied one complete set of the Lotus Sūtra for him. When the sūtra was completed and its adornment finished, he went again to lodge at the shrine. That night, the deity came out as before, bowed with joy, and inquired about the purpose of his coming. [The monk] told him of the matter. The deity said, "I already knew of it: when the master copied the sūtra, as soon as you wrote the title, he was already freed; now he has also been born into the human realm. However, this place is not pure and the sūtra cannot be placed here; may the master take it back and deliver it to a monastery." After talking for a long time, as dawn approached he said farewell and departed. [The monk] delivered the sūtra to a monastery. Zhang Deyan, Vice Prefect of Hangzhou, previously served in Yanzhou and knew this matter in detail.