法苑珠林 26.38

26.38

During the Kaihuang era of the Sui dynasty, Cui Yanwu of Boling was the regional inspector of Weizhou. When on an inspection tour he reached a certain village, he was astounded and overjoyed, and said to his attendants, "In a former life I was a wife in this village. Now I recognize where my home was." He then rode his horse in, following the winding alleys until he came to a house, and ordered [someone] to knock on the gate. The master of the house was aged; he hurried out and bowed in greeting. Yanwu entered the house and first went up into the hall. Looking at the eastern wall, six or seven feet from the ground, there was a raised protrusion. The guest said to the master, "The Lotus Sūtra that I used to recite in former days, along with five gold hairpins, are hidden inside this wall, and the sūtra case is there. The text on the last sheet at the end of the seventh roll of that sūtra was burned away by fire. Even now, whenever I recite this sūtra, upon reaching the end of the seventh roll I constantly forget it and cannot remember it." He then had his attendants breach the wall, and indeed they found the sūtra case. When they opened the end of the seventh roll, it, along with the gold hairpins, was entirely as he had said. The master wept and said, "When my wife was alive, she constantly recited this sūtra. The hairpins were also in that place." Yanwu pointed to a locust tree before the courtyard: "When I was about to give birth, I loosened my hair myself and placed it in the hollow of this tree." When they had someone search the tree, they indeed found the hair. Thereupon the master felt sorrow and joy. Yanwu left clothing and goods, generously providing for the master, and departed. Minister Cui Dunli related: "Indeed, years ago I saw Lu Wenli, whose account was mostly the same, only saying it was the regional inspector of Qizhou without getting his name. It was not as complete as Cui's, and thus I have followed Cui's record." (This one piece of evidence is from the Mingbao ji.)