法苑珠林 65.72

65.72

In Gaochang during the Song dynasty, there was the monk Shi Fajin, also called Daojin, surnamed Tang, a native of Zhangye in Liangzhou. In his youth he was diligent and ascetic in study, possessing surpassing virtue, and was highly esteemed by Juqu Mengxun. After Mengxun died, Juqu Jinghuan was defeated by the non-Han bandits. He asked Jin: 'I now intend to turn and pillage Gaochang; will I succeed?' Jin said, 'You will certainly triumph; only disaster and famine are to be feared.' When he turned the army back, [the city] was indeed pacified. Three years later Jinghuan died, and his younger brother Anzhou succeeded him. That year there was a famine, and those who died were countless. Since Anzhou served Jin, Jin repeatedly begged from him to relieve the poor and starving. When the state's granaries were gradually exhausted, Jin asked no more; instead, he bathed cleanly, took a knife and salt, and went deep into the destitute caves where the starving gathered. He conferred the three refuges upon them in sequence, then hung his robe and bowl on a tree, threw his body down before the starving, and said: 'I give this to you to eat together.' Though the multitude was famished and destitute, in their sense of duty they could not bear to accept. Jin then cut his own flesh, rubbed it with salt, and gave it to them to eat. When the flesh on both thighs was exhausted, he fell into faintness of heart and could not cut himself further. He then spoke to the starving people, saying: 'If you take my skin and flesh, it will still suffice for several days. If the king's envoys arrive, they will surely carry it away; just take it and hide it.' The starving people grieved and mourned, and none could bring themselves to take it. In a short while his disciples arrived, and the royal messengers also reached the scene. The entire country rushed forth, wailing and crying out incessantly. They carried him back to the palace on a litter. Zhou ordered three hundred hu of wheat to be given to the starving and opened separate granaries to relieve the poor commoners. By the next morning he passed away. They took him north of the city to cremate him; the smoke and flames reached the heavens and ceased only after seven days. His bones and corpse were entirely consumed, but his tongue alone did not decay. Right at that site, a three-storey pagoda was erected, and a stele was set up to the right. (This one miracle is from the Liang Gaosengzhuan.)