法苑珠林 28.30

28.30

Song dynasty Cheng Dedu was a native of Wuchang. His father Daohui was the Regional Inspector of Guangzhou. Dedu served as Administrative Assistant to Prince Linchuan of the Guards. At that time he was in Xunyang. There was a swallow's nest in his room. At night, he saw the inside of the room suddenly grow bright on its own, and a small child emerged from the nest, a little over a foot tall, clean and distinct. He came before Dedu's bed and said, 'In two years' time you shall attain the Way of long life,' and vanished in an instant. Dedu kept this very secret and found it extraordinary. In the seventeenth year of Yuanjia, he accompanied the prince to garrison Guangling, where he met the Dhyāna master Shi Daogong. He thereupon studied dhyāna under him and gained much understanding. In the spring of the nineteenth year, an extraordinary fragrance suddenly arose in the empty meditation room of his home in Wuchang, its rich scent reaching even the streets. The whole district went to observe it, and it subsided only after three days. (The six accounts above are from Mingxiang ji).