法苑珠林 64.27

64.27

In the early Kaihuang era of the Sui dynasty, there was a young boy aged thirteen in an outer district of Jizhou. He frequently stole his neighbor's chicken eggs, roasted them in hot ashes, and ate them. Later, one morning before the villagers had arisen, someone knocked on the door outside his house, calling the boy's name. His father told the boy to go out and answer. He saw a man who said, 'The authorities summon you.' The boy said, 'If you summon me for corvée labor, let me go inside to get clothes and provisions.' The messenger said, 'There is no need.' He then led the boy out. South of the village were formerly mulberry fields, which had been plowed but not yet sown. At that point, this young boy suddenly saw a small city on the right of the road; the gate-towers on all four sides were adorned with red and white pigments in great solemnity. The boy was surprised and said, 'When did this city come to be here?' The messenger scolded him, telling him not to speak. They then came to the north gate of the city, and [the messenger] bade the young boy enter first. As the boy stepped over the threshold, the city gate suddenly shut. He did not see a single person; it was merely an empty city. The ground was entirely hot ashes and fragmented embers, just deep enough to submerge one's ankles. The boy cried out and ran toward the south gate, but as soon as he neared it, it shut. He ran toward the east and west gates as well, and it was the same in every case: before he arrived they were open, but as soon as he reached them, they closed. At that time, the villagers had gone out to pick mulberry leaves; there were a great many men and women, and they all saw this boy in the plowed fields, running back and forth in all directions with cries coming from his mouth. They all said to one another, 'Is this boy mad? He has been like this since dawn, playing without rest.' When it came to mealtime, the mulberry gatherers all returned. The boy's father asked, 'Did you see my son?' The mulberry gatherers replied, 'Your son is running and playing south of the village; we called him, but he would not come.' The father went outside the village, saw his son running in the distance, and loudly called his name. At a single shout, [the boy] stopped immediately. The city and ashes suddenly disappeared. Seeing his father, he collapsed, weeping and wailing as he told him what happened. When [the father] inspected his feet, from mid-calf upward the flesh and blood were charred dry, and below his knees was scorched and blistered as if broiled. He carried him home to care for and treat him. The flesh from the thighs upward returned to normal, but below the knees it became withered bone. When the neighbors heard of this, they vied to ask about the cause, and he answered just as he had seen. The people examined the place where he had run, and the footprints were clear and unobstructed, with no ashes or fire whatsoever. This was truly because, due to his sinful karma, he perceived hell wherever he went. Thereupon, the people of the district, regardless of whether they were men or women, old or young, all held to the fasts and pure precepts until death without lapse. The monk of great virtue, Dharma Master Daohui, was originally from Jizhou, and recounted this in detail to [Tang] Lin, as he was from an adjacent district.