法苑珠林 28.31

28.31

At Bailin Temple in Yongxing during the Qi dynasty there was Shi Hongming. His original surname was Lei, and he was a native of Shanyin in Kuaiji. He went forth as a monk in his youth, living an austere and pure life with strict adherence to the precepts. He resided at Yunmen Temple in Shanyin, where he chanted the Lotus Sūtra, practiced dhyāna, and diligently engaged in worship and repentance during the six periods without ceasing. Every morning, his water vase would be filled by itself, which was truly due to heavenly youths who served him out of sympathetic resonance. Ming was once sitting in dhyāna at Yunmen when a tiger entered his room and crouched before his bed. Seeing Ming sit upright and unmoving, after a long while it departed. Also, at times he would see a small child come to listen to Ming chant sūtras. Ming asked, 'Who are you?' The child answered, 'In the past I was a śrāmaṇera in this temple. I stole food from beneath the curtain and have now fallen into the privy. Hearing of the Venerable One's cultivation of the Way, I have come to listen to the sūtra. I pray you will grant me some skillful means to free me from this burden.' Ming immediately expounded the Dharma and exhorted him to reform, and only after the boy comprehended did he vanish. Later, while Ming was in samādhi at Shimuyan in Yongxing, a mountain spirit came to harass him. Ming seized it and tied it with his waist cord. The spirit apologized submissively and pleaded for release, saying it would not dare return, so he set it free. Thereupon its traces ceased. In the fourth year of the Yongming era of the Qi dynasty, he passed away at Bailin Temple at the age of eighty-four.