法苑珠林 56.22

56.22

Under the Tang dynasty, Cen Wenben, Secretariat Director, was a native of Jiangling. In his youth he believed in the Buddha and constantly recited the 'Universal Gateway Chapter' of the Lotus Sūtra. Once, while riding a boat on the Wu River, the boat wrecked and everyone died. Wenben sank into the water and heard someone say: 'Just mindfulness of the Buddha, and you will surely not die.' This was said three times. Soon after, he surged up with the waves and found himself on the north bank, thereby escaping death. Later, he held a vegetarian feast in Jiangling, and the assembly of monks gathered at his home. A visiting monk stayed behind alone and said to Wenben: 'The realm is about to fall into chaos. Fortunately, you will not be involved in its calamities; you will ultimately meet peaceful times and attain wealth and nobility.' Having spoken, he hurried out. When [Wenben] escorted him out, he was gone. Soon after, as Wenben was eating the vegetarian meal, he obtained two śarīras inside his own food bowl. Later, it indeed turned out just as he had said. Wenben personally recounted this to [Tang] Lin.