法苑珠林 5.27

5.27

The śramaṇa Shi Huiwei of Chang'an during the Jin dynasty was of unknown origins. Residing at a great monastery in Chang'an, his observance of the precepts was pure and clean. He mostly dwelt in mountain valleys, practicing the work of dhyāna meditation. A headless ghost came, but Wei's countenance did not change. He said to the ghost: 'Having no head, you have no suffering of headaches. How delightful!' The ghost then concealed its form and returned as a belly-less ghost, possessing only hands and feet. Wei said again: 'Since you have no belly, you have no worry over the five viscera. How joyful!' In an instant it again assumed different shapes, but Wei dismissed them all in accordance with his words. Long afterward, the weather was bitterly cold with snow. A woman came asking for lodging; her appearance was upright and dignified, her clothing fresh and bright, and her demeanor seductive, gentle, and elegant. She called herself a heavenly maiden, saying: 'Because the Venerable One has virtue, Heaven has sent me to comfort and console you.' Talking of desire, she tried to sway his mind. Wei held firm to his resolute intention, his single mind undisturbed. He said to the woman: 'My mind is like dead ashes; do not test me with a leather sack [of filth].' The woman then soared into the clouds and vanished, turning back to sigh and say: 'The sea waters may dry up, and Mount Sumeru may tumble, but that Venerable One holds his resolve firm and pure.' Later, in the third year of the Long'an reign era of the Jin dynasty, he traveled together with Faxian to the Western Regions, and his final end is unknown. Next, there was Shi Xianhu, surnamed Sun, a native of Liangzhou. He came to reside at Yanxing Temple in Guanghan, constantly taking the practice of dhyāna as his occupation. He was also skilled in monastic vinaya conduct, without the slightest flaw. He died in the fifth year of the Long'an reign era of the Jin dynasty. Nearing death, five-colored light shone from his mouth, filling the entire monastery. His dying instruction was to have his body cremated, which his disciples carried out. When finished, all his limbs and joints were reduced to ashes, and only a single finger of his hand was unburned. They consequently buried it beneath a stūpa. (The preceding one is from the Liang dynasty Gao seng zhuan).