法苑珠林 64.29

64.29

Fang Shankai of Chengwu in Caozhou during the Tang dynasty was skilled with bow and arrow from his youth. He was especially fond of hunting and made it his livelihood, killing countless creatures. He died in the eleventh year of the Zhenguan era, and revived after one night, saying: When he first died, he was led away by two men. After traveling about ten li or so, they ascended a mountain. Three ghosts together guided Shankai to climb a ladder to advance. As he was about to reach the top, there was suddenly a large white hawk with beak and talons of iron, which flew up, clawed Shankai's left cheek, and left. There was also a black hawk, likewise with iron beak and talons, which clawed his right shoulder and left. When he reached the mountain peak, he was led into an administrative hall, where he saw an official wearing crimson robes and a black cap on his head, who said to Shankai, 'What meritorious deeds did you do during your lifetime? You may recount them all.' He replied, 'Since establishing myself, I have not cultivated any meritorious deeds.' The official said, 'He may temporarily be led to the southern courtyard to look.' The two men then led him south, arriving at a city that was extraordinarily precipitous. The two men knocked several times on the city's north gate, whereupon the gate immediately opened. He saw that inside the city it was blazing fiercely, entirely with violent flames. Beside the gate were several venomous serpents, each over a hundred feet long, with heads as large as five-bushel boulders, vomiting fire from their mouths as if about to shoot at people. Shankai was terrified and did not know how to escape; he only knew to bow his head and recite the Buddha's name. The gate then opened on its own. He was then brought back to see the official, who intended to send him to receive his punishment. An attendant admonished, saying, 'Shankai is not yet meant to die immediately. We only fear that once he enters this city he will not be able to get out. It would be better to release him for the time being and allow him to cultivate merit.' The official released him, ordering the previous two men to escort him. Descending along the former path, there were again flying hawks that wanted to claw him, but thanks to these two men aiding him, he escaped. Descending the mountain, he then saw a pit, inside of which was foul in the extreme. In a moment of hesitation, he was pushed in by the two men. In an instant he revived. The claw marks were extremely deep and never faded for the rest of his life. Thereafter, Shankai renounced his wife and children, converted his residence into a Buddhist cloister, and constantly took chanting and recitation as his vocation.