法苑珠林 65.78

65.78

In the early years of the Wude reign-period of the Tang, there was a man of Liquan County named Xu Shancai. Throughout his life, he had constantly practiced fasting and precepts, and recited the Avalokiteśvara Sūtra over a thousand times. Whenever he was in the capital, he stayed with the Vinaya Master Xuanwan at Yanxing Temple to cultivate merit and reverently sponsor the production of the entire canon of scriptures. In the eleventh month of the second year of Wude, he was returning home on business when he encountered Hu bandits on the road and was captured by them. They brought him to a cruel and ferocious band of Hu bandits at the southern border of Bin Prefecture, who had captured several thousand Han people. Each of them had their hands bound behind their backs, and the bandits were taking them toward a vast precipice, assigning men to kill them one by one. Their heads tumbled off the overhanging cliff. When the worthy saw that those ahead were all being slaughtered, he knew for certain he could not escape; he did nothing but recite the name of Avalokiteśvara without ceasing for a single instant. Next it was the worthy's turn. When the blade was first brought down, he himself saw the blade descend; but when it actually struck, he was unconscious of it in his mind. When the killing took place, the sun had just entered the hour of the monkey [3–5 p.m.]. By early nightfall, he felt himself sitting upon tree branches in a deep ravine, more than three hundred feet from the bank. The worthy then thought to himself: 'Why am I here?' Only after a long while did he realize: 'Today I was slaughtered; by what cause did I not die, my whole body remaining in a tree?' He then stroked his neck with his hand and felt a slight ache, yet there was not the slightest wound. He immediately knew that by mindfulness of Avalokiteśvara his life and whole body had been preserved. It was the fifteenth day at the time, and the weather was clear with a bright moon. He had no clothes upon his body, and moreover, having had no food for several days, he felt extremely hungry and cold. At dawn he gradually climbed down the tree and followed the ravine eastward for two li. Inside the ravine he found a sheepskin robe, as well as a pair of boots; having put them on, he was spared the cold. Walking another li, he then found a basket of peaches and dates, fresh green and bright red as if newly plucked. There was about a sheng or more, and eating them he was spared starvation. Were it not for the divine power of Avalokiteśvara, how could he have obtained fresh peaches and dates in midwinter? Having escaped hunger and cold and regained his physical strength, he gradually climbed up the southern slope and reached the southern bank. Looking back toward the north, he could see the bandits' camp several li in the distance, the clamor of people and livestock still not asleep. Although the worthy had reached the southern bank, fearing that the bandits might pursue him, he walked swiftly toward home. After walking perhaps fifty li, knowing that the bandits were gradually farther away, his body and mind grew calm and peaceful. Resting under a tree, he sat cross-legged and recited his prayers. Because his body had been weary for many days, he did not realize that he sat until the fourth watch. Suddenly awakening, he opened his eyes and saw a huge dark wolf crouching before him, pressing its mouth right against the worthy's nose. Seeing this, the worthy closed his eyes again and thought: 'If you are indeed my creditor, I am willing for you to eat my body to repay my past misfortunes. May we each abandon our grudges and knots, and together give rise to benevolence and compassion. If you are Avalokiteśvara, I pray you rescue your disciple and cause me to attain peace.' After he spoke these words, he opened his eyes and looked around, but not a trace was to be seen. One should know that the power of the roots of compassion and kindness of all Buddhas manifests sympathetically according to conditions, yielding inexhaustible benefits. Nowadays, there are those who recite but do not obtain efficacy; this is truly due to a light-minded attitude, and also because past and present past misdeeds reinforce one another, so that it is difficult to elicit resonance. The worthy arrived home in peace and safety, and showed the remaining peaches and dates to clergy and laity alike, so that they knew it was truly not false. (I, Daoshi, personally heard Master Xuanwan relate this in my youth.)