法苑珠林 26.40

26.40

Liu Shanqing of Xicheng in Fenzhou during the Tang dynasty was orphaned at an early age and reared by his mother. Throughout her life, his mother had constantly practiced and read the Buddhist scriptures with energetic diligence and ascetic discipline. In the twenty-first year of Zhenguan, she passed away. Shanqing was emaciated with grief beyond what the rites required, weeping without cease. The following year, in a trance, Shanqing saw his mother, who said, "Because of cultivating merit during my lifetime, I have obtained a male body. I am now born in the Song household in Shizhao Village to the south of this county. If you wish to see me, you may go there at once." When she finished speaking, she disappeared. Shanqing went as she had said, arriving there in no time. On that day, a boy was born into the Song household. Shanqing then offered clothing and goods, recounting the circumstances in full. This boy is currently alive, and Shanqing constantly serves him with the rites due to a mother. Śramaṇa Shanfu of Xizhou was an old acquaintance of Shanqing; seeing what Shanqing and the villagers said, he recounted it for me.