法苑珠林 61

English (machine translation) 61

Language: English

61.1

Compiled by the śramaṇa Shi Daoshi of Ximing Temple

61.3

Sympathetic Resonances (briefly citing eight verifications)

61.4

Ge You of the Former Zhou
Shi Jīvaka of the Jin
Zhu Fotudeng of the Jin
Zhu Fayin of the Jin
Shi Baoyi of the Song
Shi Beidu of the Song
Shi Xuanchang of the Song
Misc. popular illusory arts

Ge You of the Former Zhou was a Qiang person of Shu. In the time of King Cheng of Zhou, he was fond of carving wooden sheep and selling them. One morning, he rode a wooden sheep into Shu. The princes and nobles of Shu pursued him up Mount Sui. Mount Sui lies southwest of Emei, boundlessly high. Those who followed him never returned; all attained the way of immortals. Hence the local saying went: “To obtain a single peach from Mount Sui: though one cannot become an immortal, it is enough to make one powerful.” At the foot of the mountain, shrines were erected in several dozen places (seen in Soushen ji).

61.6

In Luoyang under the Jin, there was Shi Jīvaka, a man of Tianzhu. Wandering through China and barbarian lands, he had no fixed dwelling. Unconventional and miraculous, he followed his nature and disregarded worldly customs; his tracks and deeds were unpredictable, and people of the time could not fathom him. From his departure from Tianzhu up to Funan, passing along the sea coasts, he then travelled through Jiaozhou and Guangzhou, working spiritual wonders everywhere. Having reached Xiangyang, he wished to take passage across the river. The boatman, seeing the Indian śramaṇa’s clothes were tattered and mean, made light of him and would not take him aboard. When the boat reached the northern bank, Jīvaka had already crossed over. Walking ahead, he saw two tigers drooping their ears and wagging their tails; Jīvaka stroked their heads with his hand, and the tigers left the path and went away. Those who saw this on both banks followed him in crowds. At the end of the reign of Emperor Hui of Jin, he arrived in Luoyang. All the monks paid homage to him; Jīvaka knelt in the barbarian fashion, his countenance calm and unmoved. From time to time he would tell people what they had undergone in previous lives, saying that Zhi Fayuan had come from a sheep, and Zhu Faxing had come from a human being. He also ridiculed the assembly of monks, whose clothes were ornate and did not conform to the ascetic rule. Seeing the palaces of Luoyang, he said, “They vaguely resemble the palace of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, only that the natural and the artificial are different.” Jīvaka said to the śramaṇa Qizhemi, “The one who built this palace came from the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven; once it was completed, he returned to heaven. Beneath the tiles of the roof-ridge there should be fifteen hundred tools.” At the time everyone said, “In the past we heard that this artisan indeed placed tools under the tiles.” It was also said, “After the palace was completed, he was soon put to death.” Teng Yongwen of Nanyang, Administrator of Hengyang, was staying in Luoyang at the Manshui Temple when he fell ill. For years he did not recover; his two legs were contracted and bent, and he could not rise to walk. Jīvaka went to see him and said, “Do you wish your illness to be cured or not?” He then took a cup of pure water and a willow branch, flicked the water with the willow branch, raised his hand toward Yongwen, and incanted over him. He did this three times, and then grasped Yongwen’s knee with his hand and bade him rise; he immediately arose and walked as before. In this temple there were several dozen dried-up, dead dhyāna trees. Jīvaka asked Yongwen, “How long have the trees been dead?” Yongwen said, “For years.” Jīvaka at once incanted toward the trees using the same method as for Yongwen; the trees soon blossomed and flourished luxuriously. In the Directorate for Imperial Manufactures, there was a man who was ill and about to die. Jīvaka placed a patra on the sick man’s belly and covered him completely with white cloth. After chanting prayers of several thousand words, a foul stench permeated the entire room. The sick man said, “I am saved!” Jīvaka ordered the cloth to be lifted; in the patra there were several sheng of substance like dregs and sludge, so foul that none could approach it. The sick man was thereupon saved. As Luoyang was approaching disorder, he took his leave to return to Tianzhu. The śramaṇa Zhu Faxing of Luoyang was an eminent disciple. The people of the time asked him to invite Jīvaka, saying, “Since the Venerable One is a monk who has attained the Way, we wish you would leave one word as an eternal admonition.” Jīvaka said, “You may assemble everyone together.” When the assembly had gathered, Jīvaka ascended the high seat and spoke a verse, saying:

61.7

“Guard the mouth and restrain body and mind; / Be careful not to commit any evils.
Practise all good deeds; / In this way one attains deliverance from the world.”

61.8

When his words ended, he sat in dhyāna silence. Faxing requested again, saying, “We wish the Venerable One would bestow what has not yet been heard. The meaning of such a verse is already memorised and recited by an eight-year-old child; it is not what was expected of a person who has attained the Way.” Jīvaka smiled and said, “Though an eight-year-old recites it, an hundred-year-old does not practise it; what is the benefit of reciting it? Everyone knows to revere one who has attained the Way, but they do not know that by practising it they themselves attain the Way. How lamentable! Though my words are few, those who practise them will gain much.” Thereupon he took his leave. Several hundred people each invited Jīvaka for the midday meal; Jīvaka promised to go to all of them. The next morning, there was a Jīvaka in each of the five hundred households. At first each thought he had visited them alone; when they came to converse and ask one another, they only then realised he had multiplied his body to descend upon them. When he departed, all the monks saw him off as far as the city of Henan. Jīvaka walked slowly, yet those pursuing could not catch up. Jīvaka then drew a line on the ground with his staff and said, “Here we part!” On that day, someone coming from Chang’an saw Jīvaka in a temple there. Furthermore, a barbarian merchant, Hushideng, encountered Jīvaka in the drifting sands just as evening fell on that very day. Calculating this, he had already travelled more than nine thousand li. Having returned to the Western Countries, it is not known where he ended his days.

61.9

During the Jin dynasty, there was Zhu Fotucheng in Ye, who was a native of the Western Regions. His original surname was Bo. He went forth from the household in his youth, remaining pure and upright and devoting himself to study. He chanted several millions of words of the scriptures and was skilled in understanding their meaning. Although he had not read the Confucian texts and histories of this land, when debating doubtful and knotty points with scholars, his understandings were as secretly matched as tallies, and none could bend him. He said of himself that he had twice gone to Kashmir to receive instruction from renowned teachers, and throughout the Western Regions he was acclaimed as one who had attained the Way. In the fourth year of the Yongjia reign of Emperor Huai of the Jin dynasty, he came to Luoyang with the intent to broadly propagate the Great Dharma. He was adept at chanting divine dhāraṇīs and could command ghosts and spirits. Smearing his palm with sesame oil mixed with safflower oil, matters a thousand li away were clearly seen in his palm as if face to face. He could also cause those who observed pure purification rites to see likewise. Furthermore, by listening to the sound of bells he could divine events, never failing to find confirmation. He then concealed himself in the marshy fields to observe the changes of the world. At that time, Shi Le had stationed his troops at Gebi, making slaughter alone his instrument of awe, and very many śramaṇas met their deaths. Cheng took pity on the common people and wished to transform Le through the Way. Thereupon, taking up his staff, he went to the gate of the army. Le's general Guo Heilüe had long revered the Dharma; Cheng immediately sought lodging at Heilüe's house, where Heilüe received the five precepts from him and treated him with the respect due to a master from a disciple. Le summoned Cheng and asked, "What efficacious proof does the Buddha's Way have?" Cheng knew that Le was not receptive to profound principles and could only be convinced by the evidence of spiritual arts. He therefore said, "Although the ultimate Way is profound, it may also be verified through proximate matters." He immediately took an alms bowl, filled it with water, burned incense, and chanted a spell over it. In an instant, a blue lotus flower grew forth, its light and colors dazzling the eyes. Le was thereby convinced and won over. Cheng then admonished him, saying, "When the virtuous transformation of a sovereign spreads through the world, the four spiritual creatures display auspicious omens. When governance falls into corruption and the Way wanes, comets appear above. Ever do portents manifest, with good fortune and calamity following upon conduct. This is the constant verification across ancient and modern times, the clear admonition between heaven and humans." Le was greatly pleased by this. Of all those who were to be executed or mutilated, eight or nine out of ten benefited from his intervention. Later, Le, falling into rage, wished to harm the Daoist practitioners and also wished to torment Cheng. Cheng then avoided this by going to Heilüe's house, telling his disciples, "If the general sends a messenger to ask where I am, report that you do not know where I have gone." The messenger soon arrived, searched for Cheng, but could not find him, and returned to report to Le. Le was startled and said, "I bore ill intent toward the sage, and the sage has abandoned me and departed!" Throughout the night he did not sleep, thinking of seeing Cheng. Knowing that Le had repented, Cheng went to see Le the next morning. Le said, "Where did you go last night?" Cheng said, "You had an angry mind, my lord, and so I temporarily avoided it last night. You have now changed your mind, which is why I dare to come." Le laughed heartily and said, "You are mistaken, man of the Way!" The water source for the moat of the city of Xiangguo was below the Huanlan shrine, five li northwest of the city. Its water suddenly dried up. Le asked Cheng, "How can water be brought?" Cheng said, "Now I should command the dragon." Le's courtesy name was Shilong; thinking that Cheng was mocking him, he replied, "It is precisely because a dragon cannot bring water that I ask you." Cheng said, "These are sincere words, not in jest. In the source of the spring, there must reside a divine dragon. If I now go and command it, water can surely be obtained." He then went with his disciples Fashou and several others to the springhead. The old place of the source had long dried up, cracked like chariot ruts. His followers were suspicious and feared that water would be difficult to obtain. Cheng sat on a rope bed, burned benzoin incense, and chanted aspirations amounting to several hundred words. After three days of this, water suddenly began to flow faintly. There was a small dragon, about five or six inches long, which came out following the water. The monks vied to go and look at it. Cheng said, "The dragon has poisonous vapors; do not approach over it." Shortly thereafter, water arrived in great volume, and the moats and trenches were all filled. The subtle omens Cheng foretold can hardly all be related. After Le ascended the throne, he served Cheng all the more earnestly. At that time, Shi Cong was about to rebel. That year, Cheng warned Le, saying, "This year, there are pests within the alliums; eating them will surely harm people. You may order the populace not to eat alliums." Le issued an order throughout his realm warning them not to eat alliums. By the eighth month, Shi Cong indeed fled. Le respected him even more, consulting him before acting on any matter, and addressed him as "the Great Monk." Shi Hu had a son named Bin, whom Le later took as his own son and loved dearly. He suddenly fell violently ill and died; two days had already passed. Le said, "I have heard that when the Crown Prince of Guo died, Bian Que was able to bring him back to life. The Great Monk is a divine man of the realm; we should urgently go and inform him, for he will surely be able to bring about good fortune." Cheng then took a willow branch and chanted a spell over it. In an instant, the child was able to rise, and before long he fully recovered. From this time on, Le's young children were mostly raised within Buddhist temples. Every year on the eighth day of the fourth month, Le personally went to the temple to bathe the Buddha and make vows for his children. In the fourth month of the fourth year of Jianping, the sky was calm and without wind, yet a single bell on the stūpa rang by itself. Cheng said to the assembly, "The sound of the bell says: 'There will be a great mourning in the state, not outlasting this year.'" In the seventh month of that year, Le died. His son Hong succeeded to the throne. Soon after, Hu deposed Hong and set himself up, moving the capital to Ye and designating the era title Jianwu. Devoting his heart to serving Cheng, he revered him even more than Le had, and issued an edict saying: "The Monk is a great treasure of the realm. Glorious peerages are not bestowed upon him; high emoluments he does not receive. If honors and emoluments are not lavished, how can his virtue be proclaimed? From this time forward, it is fitting that he be clad in damask and brocade and ride in an engraved carriage. On days of court assemblies, when the Monk ascends the hall, all from the Regular Attendants down shall assist in raising the palanquin, and the Crown Prince and the Dukes shall support him as he ascends. The master of ceremonies shall announce, 'The Great Monk has arrived,' and all who are seated shall stand to manifest his veneration." He also commanded the pseudo-Minister of Works, Li Nong, to inquire after him in person morning and evening, and ordered the Crown Prince and Dukes to pay court every five days to express his respect. At that time, Cheng resided in the palace temple inside the city of Ye. He sent his disciple Fachang north to Xiangguo. His disciple Fazuo was returning from Xiangguo, and they met beneath the wall of Liangji, lodging together overnight. Facing each other's carts, they talked through the night, touching upon the Monk. At dawn, each went his way. When Fazuo arrived, he entered to pay respects to Cheng. Cheng smiled ahead of him and said, "Last night, as your cart crossed with Fachang's, did you speak together of your master? The ancients had a saying: 'Is it not called respect? Not to alter even in the dark. Is it not called caution? Not to be indolent even when alone.' To be dark and alone is the root of respect and caution; did you not understand this?" Zuo was startled, ashamed, and repentant. Thereupon the people of the country always said to one another, "Do not harbor ill intentions; the Monk knows of you." Wherever Cheng was, none dared to blow their noses, spit, or relieve themselves facing in his direction. At that time, Crown Prince Shi Sui had two sons in Xiangguo. Cheng said to Sui, "Little Ami will soon fall ill; you may go to bring him back." Sui immediately dispatched a messenger to go and see, and he was indeed already sick. The chief physician Yin Teng and a foreign Daoist claimed that they could cure him. Cheng told his disciple Faya, "Even if a sage were to appear again, he could not cure this illness, let alone these people!" Three days later, the child indeed died. Later, the Jin army came out to the Huai and Si rivers, and Longbei and Wacheng were both invaded and pressed. The three quarters sent urgent reports, and the people's minds were alarmed and disturbed. Hu then grew furious and said, "I have revered the Buddha and made offerings to the Saṅgha, yet this has only brought foreign invaders. The Buddha has no spiritual power!" Cheng entered early the next morning, and Hu asked Cheng about the matter. Cheng then admonished Hu, saying, "Great King, in a past life you were a great merchant leader. Arriving at a monastery in Kashmir, you once offered a great feast, in which were sixty arhats; this lowly body of mine also participated in that assembly. At that time, a person who had attained the Way told me, 'When this host's life ends, he will take a chicken's body, and after that he will rule as king in the land of Jin.' Now that the Great King has become the sovereign, is this not your merit? Military incursions on the borders are a normal occurrence for a state. Why do you resent and slander the Three Jewels, giving rise to venomous thoughts through the night?" Hu then believed and awoke to this, kneeling to apologize. Hu once asked Cheng, "The Buddha's Dharma forbids killing. I am the ruler of all under Heaven; without executions and killings, I cannot purge the realm within the seas. Since I violate the precept and take life, though I serve the Buddha, how can I attain blessings?" Cheng said, "When emperors and kings serve the Buddha, it lies in manifesting reverence in body and yielding in mind, exalting the Three Jewels, not committing cruel tyranny, and not harming the innocent. As for the violent, stupid, and unruly who cannot be changed by moral influence, when they are guilty of crimes, one cannot but kill them; when they commit evil, one cannot but punish them. One should merely kill what may be killed and punish what may be punished. If one indulges one's desires in cruel tyranny, killing and harming unlawfully, then even if one exhausts one's wealth to serve the Dharma, disaster cannot be averted. May Your Majesty lessen desires and give rise to compassion, extending it broadly to all. Then the Buddha's teachings will long flourish, and good fortune will endure." Although Hu could not follow all of it, it was of no small benefit. Hu's Ministers of the Secretariat, Zhang Li and Zhang Liang, had wealthy families and served the Buddha, each building a great stūpa. Cheng said to them, "Serving the Buddha lies in purity, tranquility, desirelessness, and having compassion as one's heart. Although you, dānapatis, ceremonially uphold the Great Dharma, your greed and stinginess have not ceased. Hunting without moderation and accumulating without end, you are about to receive retribution in this present life; what reward of blessings can you hope for?" Li and the other were later both executed and wiped out. Cheng once sent a disciple to the Western Regions to buy incense. After he had departed, Cheng said to the other disciples, "In my palm, I see that the disciple buying incense has been robbed in a certain place and is close to death." He then burned incense and chanted aspirations, rescuing and protecting him from afar. The disciple later returned and said, "On a certain month and day at a certain place, I was robbed by bandits and was on the verge of being killed, when suddenly I smelled a fragrance, and the bandits, startled for no reason, said, 'Relief troops have arrived!' and abandoned me to flee." Whenever Hu wished to attack Yan, Cheng admonished him, saying, "The state of Yan's destiny has not run out; it will be difficult to overcome in haste." Hu repeatedly suffered defeats, only then believing Cheng's admonition. Furthermore, the Yellow River originally did not produce soft-shelled turtles; suddenly one was obtained and presented to Hu. When Cheng saw it, he sighed and said, "Huan Wen will enter the River before long!" Wen's courtesy name was Yuanzi. Later it indeed turned out as he had said. Cheng was once ascending the central hall together with Hu, when Cheng was suddenly startled and said, "A disaster, a disaster! A fire will occur in Youzhou." He then took wine and sprinkled it. After a long while, he smiled and said, "The rescue has been accomplished." Hu sent someone to check Youzhou, who reported, "On that day, fire arose from the four gates; a black cloud came from the southwest, and a sudden downpour extinguished it. The rain also smelled considerably of wine." In the seventh month of the fourteenth year of Hu's Jianwu reign, Shi Xuan and Shi Tao were plotting to kill each other. Xuan at that time came to the temple and sat with Cheng. A single bell on the pagoda rang by itself. Cheng said to Xuan, "Do you understand the sound of the bell? The bell says: 'The barbarian son will fall into calamity.'" Xuan's countenance changed and he said, "What words are these?" Cheng said deceitfully, "This old barbarian practices the Way but cannot live in the mountains, speaking of fine carpets and beautiful garments; is this not falling into calamity?" Shi Tao arrived later; Cheng gazed at him intently for a long time. Tao was frightened and asked Cheng about it; Cheng said, "I was amazed by the smell of your blood, which is why I looked at you." In the eighth month, Cheng had ten disciples purify themselves in a separate chamber. Cheng at that time briefly entered the eastern gallery. Hu and Empress Du inquired after Cheng. Cheng said, "There is a bandit at your flank; it will not exceed ten days. From west of the pagoda to east of this hall, there will be flowing blood. Be cautious not to walk east." Empress Du said, "Is the Monk senile? Where could there be a bandit?" Cheng immediately changed his words, saying, "All that the six senses receive are bandits. It is natural for the old to be senile, so long as the young are not muddled." Thus he spoke in allegories and did not make it explicitly clear again. Two days later, Xuan indeed sent men to kill Tao in the Buddhist temple, wishing to carry out a great treason when Hu came to mourn. Because of Cheng's prior warning, Hu was able to escape. When Xuan's plot was exposed and he was arrested, Cheng admonished Hu, saying, "Since he is Your Majesty's son, why add such heavy calamity? If Your Majesty can show forbearance and apply compassion, there will still be more than sixty years [of dynasty]. If you must execute him, Xuan will become a comet that sweeps down upon the palace of Ye." Hu did not follow his advice; he pierced Xuan's jaw with iron chains, dragged him onto a pile of firewood, and burned him. He arrested more than three hundred of his officials, having them all torn apart by chariots and dismembered, throwing them into the Zhang River. Cheng then instructed his disciples to end their fast in the separate chamber. More than a month later, there was an apparition: a horse whose mane and tail both appeared burned entered the Zhongyang Gate and exited the Xianyang Gate; it headed east toward the Eastern Palace, but could not enter either, and ran toward the northeast, vanishing after a short while. When Cheng heard of it, he sighed and said, "The disaster is about to arrive." In the eleventh month, Hu held a great banquet for his ministers in the front hall of Taiwu. Cheng chanted, "The hall, the hall! Brambles grow into a grove, about to tear people's clothes." Hu ordered the stones beneath the hall to be uncovered and examined, and there were indeed brambles growing there. Cheng returned to the temple, looked at the Buddha statue, and said, "How regrettable that it cannot be adorned!" Speaking to himself, he asked, "Can it last three years?" and answered himself, "It cannot." He asked again, "Can it last two years, one year, a hundred days, or one month?" and answered himself, "It cannot." Then he spoke no more. Returning to his chamber, he said to his disciple Fazuo, "In the wushen year, calamity and chaos will sprout; in the jiyou year, the Shi clan will be destroyed. Before the chaos arrives, I shall pass away first." He immediately sent someone to bid farewell to Hu, saying, "The nature of things must change, and life cannot be preserved. This illusory body of disasters of this poor monk has reached its appointed time of transformation. Having received your exceptional favor, I respectfully inform you in advance." Hu said sorrowfully, "I had not heard that the Monk was ill, yet he suddenly announces his demise!" He immediately left the palace himself, visited the temple, and offered comforting words. Cheng said to Hu, "Entering life and exiting death is the constant way. Long or short life is fixed by destiny; it is not something that can be prolonged. The Way values the perfection of conduct; virtue prizes absence of indolence. If one's conduct and integrity have no flaws, though dead, one remains as if living. To violate them and obtain longevity is not what one desires. What remains unfulfilled in my mind now is that the state cherishes Buddhist principles, serves the Dharma without stint, and has raised temples high and magnificent. Befitting such virtue, you should enjoy good fortune. Yet your governance is violent, and cruel punishments are excessive, openly violating the sacred texts and secretly disobeying the Dharma's admonitions. If you do not restrain and reform yourself, in the end there will be no blessings or protection. If you humble your heart, alter your thoughts, and show kindness to these lower people, then the state's mandate will be prolonged, and both religious and lay will rejoice and rely upon it. Then, completing my life and meeting my end, I shall pass away without remaining regret." Hu wept and sobbed, knowing that he would surely pass away. He immediately had a vault dug and a tomb constructed for him. On the eighth day of the twelfth month, he died at the palace temple in Ye; this year was the fourth year of the Yonghe reign of Emperor Mu of the Jin dynasty. Officials and commoners mourned and wailed, the entire realm mourning; he was one hundred and seventeen years of age. He was then buried at Zimo, west of Linzhang, which was the tomb created by Hu. Soon after, Liang Du raised a rebellion. The next year Hu died, and Ran Min usurped the throne, slaying the Shi clan to the last person. Min's childhood name was Jinu ["Bramble Slave"]; this was what Cheng had previously meant by "brambles grow into a grove." Near Cheng's left breast, there was originally a hole four to five inches in circumference, passing straight through into his abdomen. At times his intestines would emerge from it, and he would plug the hole with cotton wool. At night, when he wished to read scriptures, he would pull out the cotton, and the entire room would be brightly illuminated. Moreover, on days of purification, he would always go to the water's edge, draw out his intestines, wash them, and insert them back inside. Cheng was eight chi tall, with an elegant and composed bearing. He had a marvelous comprehension of profound sūtras and broad mastery of worldly treatises. When lecturing, he would directly indicate the essential tenets, making the text and meaning clear and understandable from beginning to end. In addition, his compassion extended to the populace, rescuing those in peril and distress. Under the violent tyranny and unprincipled cruelty of the two Shis, had they not lived in the same time as Cheng, who could tell what would have happened? Yet the people benefited, using it daily without knowing it. Several tens of renowned monks, such as Fotiao and Bodhi, all came from India and Kangju, not considering tens of thousands of li distant, treading across the drifting sands on foot to come to Cheng to receive instruction. Shi Dao'an of the Fan River and Zhu Faya of Zhongshan both crossed passes and rivers to hear Cheng lecture; all of them marvelously comprehended the refined principles and deeply probed subtle depths. Cheng said of himself that his birthplace was more than ninety thousand li from Ye; he had left the household to enter the Way for one hundred and nine years. Wine never passed his teeth, and he did not eat past noon. If it was not in accordance with the precepts, he did not tread upon it; he had neither desire nor seeking. Those who received instruction and followed him numbered constantly in the hundreds, and from first to last his disciples were nearly ten thousand. In the provinces and commanderies through which he passed, he established eight hundred and ninety-three Buddhist temples. The flourishing of his propagation of the Dharma was surpassed by none. Initially, when Hu encoffined Cheng, he placed his living staff and alms bowl inside the coffin. Later, when Ran Min usurped the throne, he opened the coffin and found only the bowl and staff, no longer seeing the corpse. Some said that in the month Cheng died, someone saw him in the drifting sands. Hu suspected that he was not dead, opened the coffin, and saw the corpse. Later, Murong Jun established his capital at Ye and resided in Shi Hu's palace. He repeatedly dreamed of Hu biting his arm, and suspected that Shi Hu was haunting him. He thereupon offered a reward to find Hu's corpse, and dug it up at the Dongming Pavilion. The corpse was stiff and not decomposed. Jun stepped on it and cursed, "How dare a dead barbarian terrify a living Son of Heaven! When your palaces were completed, you were plotted against by your own son, let alone by others!" He flogged and humiliated it, then threw it into the Zhang River. The corpse leaned against a bridge pillar and did not move. The Qin general Wang Meng then gathered and buried it. This was the prophecy of Maru. Maru was a refugee from Wei County, whose clan was unknown to anyone. He always wore a hemp-padded jacket and a cloth robe, begging in the marketplace. He appeared mad but was actually a worthy. People said that his friendship with Master Cheng was extremely close. When he first met Hu, their conversation had nothing unusual, only saying that His Majesty would end beneath a single-pillared hall. Later, when Fu Jian attacked Ye, Jun's son Wei was captured by Jian's general Guo Shenhu; this was indeed the verification of the earlier dream of the tiger [Hu]. Tian Rong's Records of Zhao says that several years before Cheng died, he built his own tomb. Since Cheng already knew that the tomb would certainly be opened and that his corpse would not be inside, how could he have built it in advance? I fear that Rong is mistaken. Cheng is sometimes called Fotudeng [磴], sometimes Fotuzheng [撜], and sometimes Fotucheng [澄]; these are merely different renderings of the Sanskrit sound.

61.10

The Jin śramaṇa Zhu Fayin, during the Taiyuan era of the Jin dynasty, was renowned as a person of excellence and was held in great regard. General Who Pacifies the North, Wang Wendu of Taiyuan, befriended him and was close to him. They once discussed the retribution of life and death, [noting that] it was shadowy, obscure, and difficult to comprehend; one could only grant its principle, but could not yet verify its reality. They therefore made a pact between them: whichever died first and still had consciousness, if he actually saw sins and blessings, he should report it to the other. Fayin later lived in Kuaiji and died after some years. Wang was in the capital and did not know of it. Suddenly he saw Fayin come; surprised and delighted, Wang comforted and greeted him. Fayin said, 'This impoverished monk died of illness at such-and-such a time. Sins and blessings are not empty; their resonance is like a shadow or an echo. The dānapati should diligently cultivate virtue to elevate and deliver his spirit. Since we had our former pact, I have come to report it to you.' When he finished speaking, he suddenly was seen no more. From then on, Wang became diligent in his faith and devotion.

61.11

At Zhongxing Temple in the Song capital, there was the śramaṇa Baoyi, in Sanskrit Anāmati. His original surname was Kang, and he was a man of Kangju whose family had resided in India for generations. During the Xiaojian era of the Song dynasty, he came to reside in the capital. He was thoroughly versed in the sūtras and treatises, and was also called a Tripiṭaka [master]. He often rolled several hundred cowrie shells, instantly knowing good and ill fortune. He was proficient in divine dhāraṇīs; by smearing incense on his palm, he could also see past events. Emperor Shizu of the Song bestowed on him a bronze spittoon about two feet high, which was kept constantly in front of his bed. Suddenly someone stole it. Baoyi took a sitting mat, rolled it empty, and chanted a dhāraṇī over it several times. After three nights, the spittoon was back inside the mat; no one could fathom how it happened. Thereupon, monastics and laypeople from far and near all revered him and marvelled at him.

61.12

In the Song capital was Shi Beidu (Cup Crosser); no one knew what his secular surname or personal name was. He often crossed water riding in a wooden cup, hence his epithet. He was first seen in Jizhou, not cultivating minor rules of conduct. His spiritual powers were pre-eminent, and the world could not fathom his origins. He once lodged at a house in the north; the family had a golden icon, and Beidu stole it and carried it away. The master of the house noticed and pursued him, seeing Beidu walking slowly, yet chasing him on a galloping horse he could not catch him. When he reached the Mengjin River, he floated his wooden cup on the water and relied on it to cross, needing neither wind nor oars, skimming swiftly as if flying. In a short while he crossed the bank and reached the capital. When seen at the time, he appeared to be about forty years old, wearing ropes and rags that barely covered his body. His speech came and went, and his joy and anger were erratic. Sometimes, amidst severe frost and ice, he would break through the freeze to bathe; sometimes he wore clogs to climb mountains; sometimes he walked barefoot into the market. He carried only a single reed basket and had nothing else. He occasionally went to the quarters of the monastic Fayi at Yanxian Temple, and Fayi accommodated him in a separate room. Later, wishing to go to Guazhou, he walked along the riverside and asked the boatmen for passage, but they refused to carry him. He again stepped into his cup with both feet, looked around, and chanted; the cup drifted naturally and crossed straight to the northern bank. Heading toward Guangling, he came upon a village dwelling where the Li family was holding an eightfold upasatha fast. Not knowing them previously, he went straight into the fasting hall and sat down, placing his reed basket in the courtyard. Because of his ragged appearance, the assembly had no reverent thoughts toward him. Seeing the reed basket blocking the path, Li wanted to move it against the wall, but several people lifting it could not budge it. After Beidu finished eating, he lifted it and left, laughing and saying, 'The Four Heavenly Kings!' At that time the Li family had a young servant who peeked into the basket and saw four little boys, all several inches tall, with upright features and fresh, clean garments. Thereupon they pursued and searched for him, but did not know where he was. Three days later, they saw him sitting beneath a dense tree in the western border. Li bowed and invited him back to his home to make offerings to him for months. Beidu did not keep the fast strictly; he drank wine and ate meat, even eating alliums and raw fish without differing from the secular. When commoners made offerings, he sometimes accepted and sometimes did not. Liu Xingbo of Peiguo, as inspector of Yanzhou, sent someone to invite him; he came carrying the basket. Xingbo had men try to lift it and look inside, but more than ten people could not lift it. When Xingbo looked himself, he saw only a tattered patched robe and a wooden cup. Later he returned to the Li family for another twenty-odd days. One clear morning, he suddenly said he wanted a kāṣāya and ordered it prepared by midday. Li immediately set about it, but by midday it was not yet finished. Beidu said he was going out for a short while, but did not return by nightfall. The entire region smelled a strange fragrance, and puzzled, they marvelled at it. Searching everywhere for Beidu, they found him beneath the northern cliff, where he had spread his tattered kāṣāya on the ground, lain down, and died. In front of his head and behind his feet, lotus flowers had grown; the flowers were exceedingly fresh and fragrant, but withered in a single night. The township gathered and buried him. A few days later, someone came from the north saying they had seen Beidu carrying his reed basket walking toward Pengcheng. They opened the coffin together, only to find boots and shoes. When he arrived in Pengcheng, he met a layman named Huang Xin who had deep faith in the Buddha's Dharma. Seeing Beidu, he bowed and invited him to his house. The family was destitute, having only barley gruel, but Beidu relished it. He stayed contentedly for half a year. Suddenly he said to Xin, 'You may search for thirty-six reed baskets; I have need of them.' Xin replied, 'Here there are only about ten; being poor, I cannot buy more, and I fear I cannot prepare them all.' Beidu said, 'Just go and search; your house should have them.' Xin thoroughly searched and indeed found thirty-six baskets. He arranged them in the courtyard; although they were of that number, many were broken and dilapidated. When Xin looked at them closely one by one, they had all become new and whole. Beidu sealed them up and told Xin to open them; he then saw they were completely filled with coins and silks, worth about a million. Those with discernment said these were the donations Beidu had received by manifesting his body in other lands, which he turned around and gave to Xin. Xin received them and used them entirely for merit. After about a year, Beidu took his leave. Xin prepared provisions for him, but the next morning saw the provisions were still intact, not knowing where Beidu had gone. After about a month, he arrived back in the capital. At that time, at Chaogou, there was Zhu Wenshu, who had revered the Dharma from youth; Beidu often came to his house. Wenshu said to Beidu, 'If your disciple should cast off this body and sink into suffering, I pray you will rescue me; if I am in a good place, I pray to be your Dharma companion.' Beidu did not reply. Wenshu rejoiced and said, 'In the Buddha's Dharma, silence is already consent.' Later he wandered into Wu commandery. On the road he saw a fisherman and went up to beg for a fish. The fisherman gave him a withered one; Beidu held it in his hand, turned it over, and threw it back into the water, where it swam away alive. He also saw a net-fisherman and again begged for a fish. The fisherman scolded him in anger and refused to give any. Beidu then picked up two pebbles and threw them into the water. Soon, two water buffaloes fought within his net; when the net was shredded and ruined, the buffaloes were seen no more. Beidu also hid his tracks and went to the Song River, where he turned an umbrella upside down in the water, rode it, and crossed to the bank. Passing through Shan County in Kuaiji, he climbed Mount Tiantai and returned after several months. In the capital at that time, there was a foreign monk named Saṃghaṭa, who was staying at Changgan Temple in the capital. There was a guest monk named Sengwu who shared a room with [Saṃgha]ṭa; through a chink in the window at night, he saw ṭa take the temple spire, hold it up into the clouds, and then bring it down. Wu dared not speak, but revered him even more deeply. At that time there was a man surnamed Zhang named Nu; no one knew where he was from. He was rarely seen eating, yet was always plump and cheerful, wearing only a single unlined garment in winter and summer alike. Walking on the road, [Saṃgha]ṭa saw Zhang Nu and smiled with delight. [Saṃgha]ṭa said, 'In the east I saw Cai Tun, in the south I visited Master Ma, in the north I met Wang Nian; now wishing to go to Beidu, I meet you!' Zhang Nu then inscribed a locust tree and sang: / 'Within the boundless Great Image, / Radiant illumination is truly manifest. / Why be confused and darkened, / Indulging delusion to invite your own ruin? / To the place of joy, few people go; / The path of suffering is like an overturned sack. / Without the resolve of pine and cypress, / How can one withstand the wind and frost? / At leisure taking part beyond the purple mists, / A long song ascends above the azure sky. / Clarifying the spirit beyond formlessness, / One shall appear in lands with karmic affinity. / The year-star aided the Han ruler; / The auspicious stars assisted the Yin king. / I am neither of these two immortals, / But hide my tracks across the nine realms. / I also see worldly people, / Touching my eyes and evoking sour cups [of sorrow]. / Viewing those with attachments through popular songs, / How can it be said to exhaust my feelings?' / [Saṃgha]ṭa said, 'Formerly I saw the master / Engaged in dhyāna contemplation in dark peaks, sitting for a hundred years at a stretch, / Great compassion perfuming his heart, peacefully contemplating dry bones.' / He also inscribed a verse of praise: / 'Fickle worldly people, / Sometimes increase, sometimes decrease; / Causing desire to soil their spirits, / Irrationally breeding lust and pleasure. / Only this wise man, / With profound awakening and foresight, / Contemplates form as floating foam, / Observes shadows as fleeting lightning. / Entangled by physical form, sound, and glory, / Dreaming of the ugly robes and caps of state; / Seeing form, he awakens to emptiness; / Playing with things, he grieves at transformation. / Renouncing confusion, cutting off existence, / Severing habits and eliminating attachments. / Curved shade of green branches, / White cogon grass used as a mat; / Following furrows to plant hemp, / Neighboring cliffs to drink the gushing springs. / Wisdom and samādhi reflect together; / The wondrous truth is daily attained. / Compassion ever increases; / Deep contemplation knows no weariness.'”}] ,

61.13

Having finished speaking, each departed. From then on, for months and days, these two men were not seen again. Traditional accounts say that he took the monk Wuchan with him to the Southern Peak and never returned. When Zhang Nu and Beidu met, they conversed at great length, yet other people could not understand them. Beidu still lingered in the capital for a short while, wandering without fixed abode; when invited, he might go or might not go. At that time in Nanzhou there was a Chen family of comfortable means; when Beidu went to their house, he was treated with great hospitality. Hearing that there was another Beidu in the capital, the five men of the Chen family—father and sons—none of them believed it, and so went down to the capital to look. He indeed was just like the Beidu in their home, identical in appearance and form. Chen set out for him a container of honey-preserved ginger, along with a knife, frankincense, hand towels, and other items. Beidu at once ate all of the honey-preserved ginger, while the other items remained as before in front of his knees. Fearing that this might be the Beidu from their own home, the father and sons left the two younger brothers behind to remain at the capital temple and watch, while the other three returned home. The Beidu at home was there as before, and in front of his knees were also the incense, knife, and other items, with the sole difference that he had not eaten the honey-preserved ginger. He then said to Chen, "The knife is blunt; you may sharpen it for me." The two younger brothers returned from the capital and said, "That Beidu has already moved to Lingjiu Temple." The Beidu at their home suddenly asked for two sheets of yellow paper to write a letter. The writing did not form characters, and the reverse sides were sealed together. Chen asked, "What kind of contract or deed is the Venerable making?" Beidu did not reply, and in the end none could fathom the reason; he thereupon vanished without a trace. The Beidu in the capital still went back and forth between mountains and towns, performing many divine spells. At that time, a maidservant of Yu Chang stole goods and fled. Though pursued on four sides, she could not be captured. They then asked Beidu. Beidu said, "She is already dead, inside an empty grave beside the river at Jincheng." When they went to look, it was indeed as he had said. When Kong Ningzi was serving as Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, he fell ill with dysentery while in his office and sent a messenger to invite Beidu. After performing his spell, Beidu said that it would be difficult to cure: "I see four ghosts, all wounded and mutilated." Ningzi wept and said, "In the past, during Sun En's rebellion, my family was ruined by soldiers; my parents and uncle all suffered cruel and agonizing ends." Ningzi indeed died. Furthermore, the mother-in-law of Qi Xie, née Hu, fell ill, and treatments by many failed to cure her. Later, Xie invited monks to hold a vegetarian feast; among those seated at the feast was the monk Cong, who urged him to welcome Beidu. Once Beidu arrived, with a single spell the sick woman was at once cured. Qi Xie served him with devotion as his master and consequently wrote a biographical record about him; the divine anomalies from throughout his life were in broad outline the same as described above. In the ninth month of the third year of the Yuanjia reign era, he bid farewell to Xie to travel east, leaving behind ten thousand coins and goods with Xie, asking him to hold a vegetarian feast on his behalf, and then departed. Reaching Lake Chishan, he fell ill with dysentery and died. Xie immediately held the feast for him and received his corpse to return and bury it at Mount Fuzhou in Jianye. In the fourth year, Shao Xin of Wuxing, who was very devoted to the Dharma, contracted typhoid fever, and no one dared care for him. Weeping with sorrow, he was mindful of Avalokiteśvara, when suddenly he saw a monk arrive who said he was a disciple of Beidu. He told him, "Do not worry; my master will soon come to visit you." [Shao] replied, "Master Du has already died; how could he possibly come?" The monk said, "What difficulty is there in his coming?" He then drew from the corner of his sash about a containerful of medicinal powder and gave it to him to take, and the illness was immediately cured. There was also Du Seng'ai, who lived beneath Nangang; he had previously served Beidu. His son became critically ill, and he thought of him with regret, lamenting that he could not obtain Master Du's divine spell. The next day he suddenly saw Beidu arrive, speaking as usual, who at once performed a spell for the sick person, and he was cured. On the eighth day of the third month of the fifth year, Beidu again came to Qi Xie's home. Lü Daohui, Wenren Danzhi, Zuo Tianqi, Shuiqiu Xi, and others all saw him together; exceedingly astonished, they at once stood up and bowed. Beidu said to the crowd, "This year will see a great disaster; you should diligently cultivate meritorious karma. The Daoist Daoyi possesses great virtue; you should go to him to repair and establish the ancient temple, so as to avert calamities and misfortunes." Shortly after, a monk at the gate called for Beidu. Beidu then took his leave, saying, "This poor monk will be going to the regions of Jiao and Guang, and will not return again." Qi Xie and the others bowed and saw him off with deep devotion, and thereupon he vanished without a trace. In later generations people also said that at times someone saw him; yet because the facts could not be verified, there was nothing to transmit.

61.14

At Mount Qihou in Shu of the Song period there was the śramaṇa Xuanchang, surnamed Zhao, a man of Jincheng in Hexi. When he was young, his family was wiped out by the Hu barbarians. Disaster was about to overtake Chang when a barbarian general saw Chang and halted, saying, "This boy's gaze radiates outward; he is no ordinary child." He thus obtained escape, and thereupon went to Liangzhou to renounce worldly life. Later, the barbarian tyrant suppressed and eradicated the Buddha-Dharma and harmed many śramaṇas; only Chang was able to flee. On the seventeenth day of the intercalary fifth month in the twenty-second year of the Yuanjia reign era, he set out from Pingcheng, taking the route through the Dai commandery and Shanggu, striding east across the Taihang Mountains, passing through Youzhou and Jizhou, and turning south as he was about to reach Mengjin. He held only a bundle of willow branches and a fistful of scallion leaves in his hands. When the barbarian cavalry in hot pursuit were about to overtake him, he struck the sand with the willow branches; the sand flew up, darkening the sky, so that men and horses could not advance. After a short while the sand settled, and the cavalry reached him again. He thereupon cast himself into the river, inserting only the scallion leaves into his nostrils to breathe and cross the water. On the first day of the eighth month he arrived in Yangzhou. He had a penetrating understanding of the sūtras and vinaya and deeply penetrated the essentials of meditation; his prognostications of fortune and misfortune never failed to be verified. Emperor Wen of the Song deeply admired and esteemed him, inviting him to be the tutor to the Crown Prince. Later he moved to rest in Jingzhou, residing at Changsha Temple. Stretching out his hand, incense came forth; water flowed from within his palm, which none could fathom. Reaching the final years of the Song, he took a swift boat on a distant journey, heading west to Chengdu. At first he resided at Dashi Temple, where he painted by his own hand sixteen divine images, including Guhyapada-vajra. In the third year of the Shengming reign era, he traveled to the western border to view the Min range; within the borders of Guangyang County in the northern part of Minshan Commandery, he saw Mount Qihou, and thereupon formed the aspiration to spend the rest of his days there. Relying on the crags and bordering the ravine, he wove grass to make a hermitage. His disciple Faqi saw a divine being riding a horse and wearing a plain blue unlined robe circle the mountain once, who returned to point out the place to build a stūpa. On the twenty-third day of the fourth month in the first year of the Jianyuan reign era of the Qi dynasty, he erected the pillar and established a temple, naming it Qixing. This was precisely the morning when the Great Ancestor of the Qi received the imperial bestowal; the heavenly season and human affairs coincided across ten thousand li. At that time, Fu Yan was garrisoned in the west at Chengdu; admiring Chang's conduct and demeanor, he treated him with the respect due to a teacher. After Chang established the temple, he sent a letter to Yan, which read:

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法苑珠林 — 道世, Classical Chinese