法苑珠林 63.59

63.59

Under the Qi, at Mount Lingyuan in Qiantang, there was the Śramaṇa Tanchao, surnamed Zhang, a man of Qinghe. He was eight chi tall, with an imposing demeanor. He wore coarse clothing, ate vegetarian food, and took only one meal at midday. He resided at Longhua Temple in the capital. At the end of the Yuanjia reign-period, he traveled south to Shixing to gaze upon its mountains and waters; sleeping alone beneath trees, tigers and wild beasts did not harm him. During the Daming reign-period, he returned to the capital. When Emperor Taizu of the Qi ascended the throne, Tanchao was commanded by imperial decree to go to Liaodong to propagate the way of dhyāna. He stayed there for two years, and the Dharma transformation flourished greatly. At the end of the Jianyuan reign-period, he returned to the capital. Soon afterwards, he went to Mount Lingyuan in Qiantang. Every time he entered dhyāna, he would not rise for several days. Later, he suddenly heard the sound of wind and thunder, and presently saw a man holding a tablet step forward, announcing that Yan, the General Pacifying the East, requested an audience. In an instant a man arrived, of exceedingly handsome appearance, accompanied by fluttering feather guards. Descending from his seat, he paid homage and called himself a disciple, saying, "I live in Qili, and my charge covers this territory. Hearing that the Dharma Master had arrived, I have come to pay my respects. Last winter, the people of Fuyang county quarried stone beneath the foot of the mountain for gambling counters, which encroached upon and damaged the dragons' chamber. The dragons were all enraged and swore not to let it rain for three hundred days. Now more than one hundred days have passed; wells and ponds have dried up, and planting in the fields has ceased entirely. Since the Dharma Master's virtue communicates with spirits, I wish to invite you to step forward; you will surely be able to induce moisture to soak the common people, and the merit will belong to you." Tanchao said, "Raising clouds and sending down rain is originally within the power of the dānapati; what can a poor monk do?" The spirit said, "My subordinates can only raise clouds; they cannot produce rain. That is why I have made this request." Tanchao then consented. The spirit vanished in a flash. Tanchao then traveled south. After five days, he reached Mount Chiting, where he offered prayers and taught the Dharma to the dragons from afar. At night, the dragons all transformed into men and came to Tanchao to pay homage. Tanchao preached the Dharma further to them, whereupon they begged for the Three Refuges and identified themselves as dragons. When Tanchao requested them to send down rain, they looked at one another without a word. That night, they appeared in Tanchao's dream, saying, "Originally, out of anger we made a vow; but since the Dharma Master guides us with goodness, we dare not disobey your command. Tomorrow at late afternoon, rain will surely fall." The next morning, Tanchao immediately went to Linquan Temple and sent someone to notify the county magistrate to prepare boats on the river to chant the Sāgarānaparipṛcchā-sūtra. The county magistrate immediately invited monks to drift in boats at Shishou. Just as the chanting of the sūtra was completed, heavy rain poured down from the clouds, satisfying both high and low ground, and that year a harvest was reaped. Tanchao died in the tenth year of the Yongming reign-period, at the age of seventy-four. (The above five persons are drawn from the Liang Biographies of Eminent Monks).